Vertiv (NYSE:VRT) Stock Price Up 0.8% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Vertiv Holdings Co (NYSE:VRT) traded up 0.8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $119.57 and last traded at $118.74. 1,725,805 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 8,057,917 shares. The stock had previously closed at $117.74.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on VRT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Vertiv from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Vertiv from $121.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays assumed coverage on Vertiv in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $142.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Vertiv from $124.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Vertiv from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertiv presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.09.

Vertiv Stock Up 0.1 %

The firm has a market cap of $44.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $122.12 and a 200-day moving average of $99.60.

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

Vertiv Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd were given a dividend of $0.0375 per share. This is an increase from Vertiv’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.03. This represents a $0.15 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.13%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 3rd. Vertiv’s payout ratio is currently 6.67%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jakki L. Haussler sold 15,347 shares of Vertiv stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.38, for a total transaction of $2,108,370.86. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,425 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $470,526.50. The trade was a 81.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anand Sanghi sold 30,914 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.46, for a total transaction 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 represents a 61.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 171,527 shares of company stock worth $23,105,682. Insiders own 5.01% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertiv

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vertiv by 15.4% during 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 last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. increased its position in Vertiv by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 127,210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,656,000 after acquiring an additional 8,579 shares during the period. Janney Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Vertiv in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $8,403,000. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd raised its stake in shares of Vertiv by 112.5% during the third quarter. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd now owns 8,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $846,000 after acquiring an additional 4,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 36,684 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.