Vertiv (NYSE:VRT) Trading Up 2.9% – Here’s What Happened

Vertiv Holdings Co (NYSE:VRT) traded up 2.9% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $136.80 and last traded at $136.44. 1,316,571 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 5,583,676 shares. The stock had previously closed at $132.59.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Vertiv in a report on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $125.00 price target for the company. Barclays began coverage on shares of Vertiv in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $142.00 target price for the company. Citigroup lifted their price target on Vertiv from $141.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Fox Advisors started coverage on Vertiv in a report on Monday, January 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price on Vertiv from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $141.75.

Vertiv Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The company has a 50 day moving average of $125.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $103.16. The firm has a market cap of $51.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 91.15, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.63.

Vertiv (NYSE:VRT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.07. Vertiv had a net margin of 7.72% and a return on equity of 55.33%. The company had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.98 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.52 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Vertiv Holdings Co will post 2.69 EPS for the current year.

Vertiv Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd were issued a $0.0375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 3rd. This represents a $0.15 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.11%. This is a boost from Vertiv’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.03. Vertiv’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.67%.

Insider Transactions at Vertiv

In related news, insider Anand Sanghi sold 30,914 shares of Vertiv stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.46, for a total value of $4,373,094.44. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 19,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,751,114.08. This trade represents a 61.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Stephen Liang sold 86,619 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.07, for a total transaction of $11,353,152.33. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,562,549.57. This represents a 81.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 171,527 shares of company stock valued at $23,105,682 over the last three months. Company insiders own 5.01% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertiv

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Vertiv during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Krane Funds Advisors LLC bought a new position in Vertiv during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Global Trust Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Vertiv in the third quarter worth $30,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC lifted its holdings in Vertiv by 200.0% in the 3rd quarter. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC now owns 300 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Vertiv in the third quarter worth $30,000. 89.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Vertiv

Vertiv Holdings Co, together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and services critical digital infrastructure technologies and life cycle services for data centers, communication networks, and commercial and industrial environments in the Americas, the Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.