Vertiv (NYSE:VRT) Shares Up 2.5% - Here's Why

Vertiv Holdings Co (NYSE:VRT - Get Free Report)'s share price shot up 2.5% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $137.30 and last traded at $135.94. 4,912,411 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 2% from the average session volume of 4,839,224 shares. The stock had previously closed at $132.59.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on VRT shares. Barclays started coverage on Vertiv in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $142.00 price objective for the company. 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 initiated coverage on Vertiv in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a "buy" rating and a $155.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Vertiv from $124.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Vertiv from $141.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $141.75.

Vertiv Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $51.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 90.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $126.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $103.68.

Vertiv (NYSE:VRT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.98 billion. Vertiv had a net margin of 7.72% and a return on equity of 55.33%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.52 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Vertiv Holdings Co will post 2.69 EPS for the current 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 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.11%. Vertiv's dividend payout ratio is currently 6.67%.

Insider Transactions at Vertiv

In other news, EVP Stephen Liang sold 86,619 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,551 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,562,549.57. This represents a 81.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Anand Sanghi sold 30,914 shares of Vertiv 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 sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 171,527 shares of company stock worth $23,105,682. 5.01% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vertiv

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Anchor Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertiv in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Krane Funds Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Vertiv in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Global Trust Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertiv during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Vertiv in the third quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.92% of the company's stock.

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.