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

Vertiv Holdings Co (NYSE:VRT - Get Free Report) shares 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 traded hands during mid-day 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

VRT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Vertiv from $124.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Vertiv in a research report on Monday, January 6th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $150.00 price target for the company. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Vertiv from $141.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Barclays initiated coverage on Vertiv in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $142.00 price target for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Vertiv in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $125.00 price objective on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $140.92.

Vertiv Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $49.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 88.52, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $125.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $102.95.

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

Vertiv Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd were paid a $0.0375 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 3rd. This represents a $0.15 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.11%. This is a positive change from Vertiv's previous quarterly dividend of $0.03. Vertiv's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.67%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jan Van Dokkum sold 38,647 shares of Vertiv stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.39, for a total transaction of $5,271,064.33. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 25,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,409,750. The trade was a 60.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Stephen Liang sold 86,619 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.07, for a total transaction of $11,353,152.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,551 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 171,527 shares of company stock valued at $23,105,682. Insiders own 5.01% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertiv

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Accurate Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Vertiv by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,234 shares of the company's stock worth $254,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Vertiv by 25.1% in the 3rd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 458 shares of the company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of Vertiv by 18.6% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 638 shares of the company's stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Vertiv by 0.9% during the third quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 13,125 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,305,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bouvel Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Vertiv by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Bouvel Investment Partners LLC now owns 11,097 shares of the company's stock worth $1,261,000 after buying an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. 89.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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