Vertiv (NYSE:VRT) Shares Down 3.1% – Here’s What Happened

Vertiv Holdings Co (NYSE:VRT)’s share price fell 3.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $125.20 and last traded at $126.57. 1,637,571 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 6,181,443 shares. The stock had previously closed at $130.64.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on VRT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Vertiv from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Vertiv in a research note on Monday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $150.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho boosted their price target on Vertiv from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays initiated coverage on Vertiv in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $142.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Vertiv from $141.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research 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.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.92.

Vertiv Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company has a market capitalization of $48.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 85.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.63. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $124.74 and its 200-day moving average is $102.01.

Vertiv (NYSE:VRT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.07. Vertiv had a return on equity of 55.33% and a net margin of 7.72%. The company had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.98 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. Vertiv’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Vertiv Holdings Co will post 2.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vertiv Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 3rd were issued a $0.0375 dividend. This represents a $0.15 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.12%. This is a positive change from Vertiv’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.03. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 3rd. Vertiv’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertiv

In other news, Director Jakki L. Haussler sold 15,347 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.38, for a total value of $2,108,370.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,425 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $470,526.50. This represents a 81.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Jan Van Dokkum sold 38,647 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.39, for a total value of $5,271,064.33. Following the sale, the director now owns 25,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,409,750. This represents a 60.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 171,527 shares of company stock valued at $23,105,682 over the last 90 days. 5.01% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertiv

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Vertiv by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 31,208 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,702,000 after acquiring an additional 1,789 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Vertiv by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 57,812 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,005,000 after buying an additional 1,222 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vertiv by 24.1% in the 2nd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 36,866 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,191,000 after buying an additional 7,163 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Vertiv by 166.5% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 10,677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $922,000 after buying an additional 6,670 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vertiv by 10,440.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 1,581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $137,000 after acquiring an additional 1,566 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.