Neuberger Berman Group LLC Sells 89,225 Shares of Vertex, Inc. $VERX

Neuberger Berman Group LLC reduced its position in shares of Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX) by 2.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,166,478 shares of the company’s stock after selling 89,225 shares during the quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC’s holdings in Vertex were worth $111,888,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in shares of Vertex by 31.0% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Vertex in the 2nd quarter worth about $54,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Vertex by 44.4% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 512 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex by 25.7% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,933 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 395 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE grew its stake in shares of Vertex by 88.1% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,024 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 948 shares during the period. 70.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vertex Trading Up 0.1%

Vertex stock opened at $19.91 on Friday. Vertex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $18.54 and a 12-month high of $60.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -56.88, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.68. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $21.76 and a 200 day moving average of $27.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $192.11 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $191.62 million. Vertex had a negative net margin of 7.32% and a positive return on equity of 26.84%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.16 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Vertex, Inc. will post 0.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Vertex announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Monday, November 3rd that allows the company to buyback $150.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VERX has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Vertex in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Stephens started coverage on Vertex in a report on Friday, September 26th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $30.00 price target on the stock. DA Davidson cut their price target on Vertex from $29.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Vertex in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Vertex from $30.00 to $24.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.60.

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.