Vertiv (NYSE:VRT) Shares Down 4.5% on Insider Selling

Vertiv Holdings Co (NYSE:VRT) fell 4.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $124.52 and last traded at $125.81. 2,940,270 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 64% from the average session volume of 8,187,053 shares. The stock had previously closed at $131.74.

Specifically, EVP Stephen Liang sold 86,619 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.07, for a total value of $11,353,152.33. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Jan Van Dokkum sold 38,647 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.39, for a total value of $5,271,064.33. Following the sale, the director now owns 25,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,409,750. The trade was a 60.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In other Vertiv news, Director Jakki L. Haussler sold 15,347 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.38, for a total value of $2,108,370.86. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,425 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $470,526.50. This trade represents a 81.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Vertiv from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Vertiv in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $155.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup lifted their target price on Vertiv from $134.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Vertiv in a report on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $125.00 price target for the company. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Vertiv from $121.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertiv has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.50.

Vertiv Trading Down 3.6 %

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $113.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $95.89. 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 stock has a market cap of $47.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 84.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.58.

Vertiv (NYSE:VRT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.07. Vertiv had a return on equity of 55.33% and a net margin of 7.72%. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.98 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Vertiv Holdings Co will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vertiv Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.0375 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 3rd. This is an increase from Vertiv’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.03. This represents a $0.15 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.12%. Vertiv’s payout ratio is currently 6.67%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its position in Vertiv by 15.4% in the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,553,001 shares of the company’s stock worth $221,013,000 after purchasing an additional 340,639 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Vertiv by 7.2% in the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 127,210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,656,000 after buying an additional 8,579 shares during the period. Janney Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Vertiv during the third quarter valued at about $8,403,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Vertiv by 190.7% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 55,923 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,564,000 after acquiring an additional 36,684 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its position in Vertiv by 46.8% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 76,932 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,654,000 after acquiring an additional 24,526 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.92% of the company’s stock.

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.