Vertiv (NYSE:VRT) Trading Up 4.5% - Still a Buy?

Vertiv Holdings Co (NYSE:VRT - Get Free Report)'s share price rose 4.5% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $130.88 and last traded at $129.65. Approximately 2,054,388 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 65% from the average daily volume of 5,919,340 shares. The stock had previously closed at $124.01.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on VRT. Fox Advisors began coverage on Vertiv in a research note on Monday, January 6th. They issued an "equal weight" rating on the stock. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Vertiv in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $155.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Vertiv from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Vertiv from $141.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vertiv presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $140.92.

Vertiv Stock Up 3.8 %

The company has a market cap of $48.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 85.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.38. The stock's fifty day moving average is $125.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $102.74.

Vertiv (NYSE:VRT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.98 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Vertiv Holdings Co will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vertiv Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd were given a dividend of $0.0375 per share. This represents a $0.15 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 3rd. This is a boost from Vertiv's previous quarterly dividend of $0.03. Vertiv's dividend payout ratio is currently 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 transaction 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 approximately $2,562,549.57. This trade represents a 81.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Anand Sanghi sold 30,914 shares of the business's 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 directly owns 19,448 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,751,114.08. The trade was a 61.38 % 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 quarter. Company insiders own 5.01% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertiv

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VRT. Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertiv in the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Krane Funds Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertiv during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Global Trust Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertiv during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC grew its stake in shares of Vertiv by 200.0% in the third 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 purchased a new position in Vertiv during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors own 89.92% of the company's stock.

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.