35,308 Shares in Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX) Purchased by Sheets Smith Investment Management

Sheets Smith Investment Management purchased a new position in Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 35,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,884,000. Vertex makes up about 1.6% of Sheets Smith Investment Management’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Vertex by 1,100.4% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 572,245 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,530,000 after purchasing an additional 524,572 shares during the period. abrdn plc grew its holdings in Vertex by 74.9% in the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 1,029,177 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,035,000 after purchasing an additional 440,832 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Vertex by 36.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,361,901 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,447,000 after purchasing an additional 363,595 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Vertex by 17.6% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,690,045 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,444,000 after purchasing an additional 253,263 shares during the period. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC grew its holdings in Vertex by 29.4% in the third quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 933,034 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,932,000 after purchasing an additional 211,896 shares during the period. 70.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Vertex Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of VERX stock opened at $35.71 on Monday. Vertex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $27.22 and a 12-month high of $60.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $46.33 and its 200 day moving average is $46.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 198.39, a P/E/G ratio of 6.66 and a beta of 0.87.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.13 by ($0.03). Vertex had a return on equity of 24.92% and a net margin of 4.73%. The business had revenue of $178.46 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $176.90 million. Research analysts expect that Vertex, Inc. will post 0.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vertex news, General Counsel Bryan T.R. Rowland sold 43,228 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.98, for a total value of $1,555,343.44. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 132 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,749.36. This trade represents a 99.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Item Second Irr. Trust Fbo Kyl sold 53,843 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.48, for a total transaction of $3,041,052.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,229,257 shares in the company, valued at $69,428,435.36. The trade was a 4.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 44.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. DA Davidson cut their price target on shares of Vertex from $62.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Vertex from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Vertex from $62.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Vertex from $64.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Vertex in a report on Thursday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.82.

About Vertex

Vertex, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides enterprise tax technology solutions for retail trade, wholesale trade, and manufacturing industries in the United States and internationally. The company offers tax determination; compliance and reporting, including workflow management tools, role-based security, and event logging; tax data management; document management; analytics and insights; pre-built integration that includes mapping data fields, and business logic and configurations; industry-specific solutions; and technology specific solutions, such as chain flow accelerator and SAP-specific tools.