JPMorgan Chase & Co. Sells 519,800 Shares of Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut its holdings in Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX) by 29.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,272,129 shares of the company’s stock after selling 519,800 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Vertex were worth $67,868,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Vertex Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of VERX stock opened at $34.98 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $42.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. Vertex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $27.22 and a 1 year high of $60.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 194.33, a PEG ratio of 6.66 and a beta of 0.80.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Vertex from $62.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Vertex from $64.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $61.00 price target on shares of Vertex in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Stifel Nicolaus cut Vertex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $58.00 to $31.00 in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Vertex from $46.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.82.

Insider Transactions at Vertex

In other Vertex news, major shareholder Item Second Irr. Trust Fbo Kyl sold 53,843 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the insider now owns 1,229,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $69,428,435.36. The trade was a 4.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Bryan T.R. Rowland sold 43,228 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 132 shares in the company, valued at $4,749.36. This represents 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.

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.