Vertiv (NYSE:VRT) Trading Up 2.1% - Should You Buy?

Vertiv Holdings Co (NYSE:VRT - Get Free Report)'s stock price was up 2.1% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $134.81 and last traded at $134.81. Approximately 1,166,380 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 5,717,233 shares. The stock had previously closed at $132.00.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on VRT. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Vertiv from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Vertiv from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Vertiv from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays started coverage on shares of Vertiv in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $142.00 target price for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Vertiv from $124.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. 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 company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $140.92.

Vertiv Stock Performance

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 stock has a market cap of $49.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 88.66, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.63. The firm's 50-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 earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.07. Vertiv had a return on equity of 55.33% and a net margin of 7.72%. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.98 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.52 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Vertiv Holdings Co will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Vertiv Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.0375 per share. This is a positive change from Vertiv's previous quarterly dividend of $0.03. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 3rd. This represents a $0.15 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.11%. Vertiv's dividend payout ratio is presently 6.67%.

Insider Transactions at Vertiv

In related news, EVP Stephen Liang sold 86,619 shares of Vertiv stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Jakki L. Haussler sold 15,347 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director now owns 3,425 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $470,526.50. The trade was a 81.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 171,527 shares of company stock valued at $23,105,682. Corporate insiders own 5.01% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertiv

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertiv during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Krane Funds Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Vertiv in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Global Trust Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertiv in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Vertiv during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. 89.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.

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