Vertiv (NYSE:VRT) Stock Price Down 3.5% on Analyst Downgrade

Vertiv Holdings Co (NYSE:VRT - Get Free Report) shares were down 3.5% on Thursday after Barclays lowered their price target on the stock from $142.00 to $131.00. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Vertiv traded as low as $107.12 and last traded at $107.35. Approximately 5,397,616 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 47% from the average daily volume of 10,108,741 shares. The stock had previously closed at $111.24.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Melius Research reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $125.00 price target on shares of Vertiv in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Vertiv in a research note on Monday, January 6th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $150.00 price target for the company. Citigroup boosted their target price on Vertiv from $141.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Vertiv from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on Vertiv in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a "buy" rating and a $155.00 target price for the company. Four investment 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, Vertiv currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $138.57.

Insider Activity at Vertiv

In other Vertiv news, insider Anand Sanghi sold 30,914 shares of the business'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 value of $4,373,094.44. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,448 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,751,114.08. The trade was a 61.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Stephen Liang sold 86,619 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.07, for a total value of $11,353,152.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,551 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,562,549.57. This trade 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 worth $23,105,682 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 5.01% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertiv

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VRT. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Vertiv during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Global Trust Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Vertiv in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC raised its position in Vertiv by 200.0% in the 3rd quarter. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC now owns 300 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in Vertiv in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, OLD Second National Bank of Aurora purchased a new stake in Vertiv in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. 89.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vertiv Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $40.60 billion, a PE ratio of 72.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.64. The business has a 50-day moving average of $122.86 and a 200 day moving average of $108.58. 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 - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.15. Vertiv had a return on equity of 55.33% and a net margin of 7.72%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.56 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Vertiv Holdings Co will post 2.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vertiv Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd were paid a $0.0375 dividend. This represents a $0.15 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 3rd. This is an increase from Vertiv's previous quarterly dividend of $0.03. Vertiv's dividend payout ratio is 6.67%.

Vertiv Company Profile

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.