Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. Sells 2,487 Shares of Veritex Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:VBTX)

Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. lessened its holdings in Veritex Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:VBTX) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 582,755 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,487 shares during the quarter. Veritex accounts for approximately 1.2% of Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Veritex were worth $15,828,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Veritex by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 48,582 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,279,000 after purchasing an additional 2,115 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Veritex by 63.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 117,609 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,095,000 after buying an additional 45,787 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Veritex by 1.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,293,966 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,064,000 after buying an additional 18,185 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Veritex by 1.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 73,421 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,920,000 after buying an additional 701 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Veritex by 24.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 631,372 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,618,000 after acquiring an additional 122,809 shares during the period. 88.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Veritex Stock Performance

Veritex stock opened at $21.79 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a market cap of $1.19 billion, a PE ratio of 11.17 and a beta of 1.11. Veritex Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $18.74 and a 12-month high of $31.62. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $24.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.50.

Veritex (NASDAQ:VBTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.02). Veritex had a net margin of 13.44% and a return on equity of 7.59%. As a group, analysts expect that Veritex Holdings, Inc. will post 2.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Veritex Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.67%. Veritex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on VBTX shares. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $34.00 target price on shares of Veritex in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Hovde Group upgraded shares of Veritex from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $31.50 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Stephens dropped their target price on shares of Veritex from $34.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Raymond James lowered shares of Veritex from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $31.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $30.90.

About Veritex

Veritex Holdings, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Veritex Community Bank that provides various commercial banking products and services to small and medium-sized businesses, and professionals. The company accepts deposit products include demand, savings, money market, and time accounts. Its loan products include commercial real estate and general commercial, mortgage warehouse loans, residential real estate, construction and land, farmland, paycheck protection program, 1-4 family residential, agricultural, multi-family residential, and consumer loans, as well as purchased receivables financing.