Vertiv (NYSE:VRT) Trading Down 2.8% After Insider Selling

Vertiv Holdings Co (NYSE:VRT) shares were down 2.8% during mid-day trading on Monday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $135.13 and last traded at $136.29. Approximately 2,138,548 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 8,177,827 shares. The stock had previously closed at $140.15.

Specifically, Director Jakki L. Haussler sold 15,347 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the director now owns 3,425 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $470,526.50. This trade represents a 81.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRT has been the topic of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Vertiv from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Vertiv from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Vertiv from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Vertiv in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $155.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Vertiv from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.50.

Vertiv Stock Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $110.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $95.18. 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 market capitalization of $51.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 90.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.58.

Vertiv (NYSE:VRT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.98 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Vertiv Holdings Co will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vertiv Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.0375 per share. This is a boost from Vertiv’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.03. This represents a $0.15 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 3rd. Vertiv’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.67%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertiv

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Vertiv by 1,019.3% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 4,007 shares of the company’s stock valued at $326,000 after purchasing an additional 3,649 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Vertiv by 37.0% during the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 11,535 shares of the company’s stock valued at $942,000 after buying an additional 3,114 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertiv during the 1st quarter worth $48,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Vertiv by 1,569.5% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 158,723 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,961,000 after acquiring an additional 149,216 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Vertiv by 303.1% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,777,057 shares of the company’s stock valued at $390,143,000 after purchasing an additional 3,591,903 shares during the last quarter. 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.