Renaissance Technologies LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX)

Renaissance Technologies LLC lessened its holdings in Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX) by 69.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 94,700 shares of the company’s stock after selling 214,800 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned 0.06% of Vertex worth $5,052,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Vertex by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,516 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management grew its holdings in Vertex by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 15,099 shares of the company’s stock valued at $806,000 after buying an additional 324 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in Vertex by 27.1% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,668 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,000 after buying an additional 569 shares in the last quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Vertex by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC now owns 17,291 shares of the company’s stock valued at $922,000 after buying an additional 584 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westover Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Westover Capital Advisors LLC now owns 55,427 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,957,000 after buying an additional 632 shares in the last quarter. 70.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Vertex Stock Performance

Vertex stock opened at $39.25 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 218.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.66 and a beta of 0.80. Vertex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $27.22 and a 1-year high of $60.71. The company’s 50-day moving average is $37.71 and its 200 day moving average is $46.42.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) last issued 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 analysts’ expectations of $176.90 million. Research analysts forecast that Vertex, Inc. will post 0.38 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Vertex

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird reduced 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. DA Davidson decreased their target price on Vertex from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Vertex from $64.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Vertex from $62.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Vertex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $58.00 to $31.00 in a report on Friday, February 28th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $48.91.

Vertex Company Profile

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.