Vertiv (NYSE:VRT) Trading 4% Higher – Time to Buy?

Vertiv Holdings Co (NYSE:VRT)’s stock price traded up 4% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $119.17 and last traded at $118.12. 1,499,886 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 7,981,975 shares. The stock had previously closed at $113.61.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays began coverage on shares of Vertiv in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $142.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America upped their target price on Vertiv from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Vertiv from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Vertiv in a report on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $125.00 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Vertiv in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $155.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.09.

Vertiv Trading Up 6.2 %

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $122.82 and its 200-day moving average is $100.68. The company has a market cap of $47.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 83.78, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60.

Vertiv (NYSE:VRT) last issued its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.98 billion. Vertiv had a net margin of 7.72% and a return on equity of 55.33%. The business’s revenue was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Vertiv Holdings Co will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vertiv Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd were issued a $0.0375 dividend. This is a positive change from Vertiv’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.03. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 3rd. This represents a $0.15 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.12%. Vertiv’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.67%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Stephen Liang sold 86,619 shares of Vertiv stock in a transaction on 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. The trade was a 81.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jakki L. Haussler sold 15,347 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 3,425 shares in the company, valued at approximately $470,526.50. This represents a 81.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 171,527 shares of company stock valued at $23,105,682 over the last ninety days. 5.01% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertiv

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in VRT. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertiv in the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Krane Funds Advisors LLC bought a new position in Vertiv in the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Global Trust Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertiv during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vertiv by 200.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC now owns 300 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Vertiv during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. 89.92% of the stock is currently owned by 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.