Vertiv (NYSE:VRT) Trading Down 4.4% – Here’s What Happened

Vertiv Holdings Co (NYSE:VRT) shares were down 4.4% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $119.20 and last traded at $120.42. Approximately 2,188,047 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 8,092,855 shares. The stock had previously closed at $125.97.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on VRT. Citigroup raised their price target on Vertiv from $141.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Vertiv from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Vertiv from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Vertiv from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Vertiv from $121.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertiv presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.09.

Vertiv Trading Up 1.2 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $43.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 76.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.61. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $121.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $98.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Vertiv (NYSE:VRT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.98 billion. Vertiv had a net margin of 7.72% and a return on equity of 55.33%. Vertiv’s quarterly revenue was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Vertiv Holdings Co will post 2.69 EPS for the current year.

Vertiv Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.0375 per share. This represents a $0.15 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.13%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 3rd. This is an increase from Vertiv’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.03. Vertiv’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Stephen Liang sold 86,619 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,562,549.57. This represents a 81.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jakki L. Haussler sold 15,347 shares of Vertiv stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.38, for a total transaction of $2,108,370.86. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,425 shares in the company, valued at approximately $470,526.50. This represents a 81.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 171,527 shares of company stock worth $23,105,682 in the last three months. 5.01% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertiv

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Vertiv in the second quarter worth $26,000. Krane Funds Advisors LLC bought a new position in Vertiv during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Global Trust Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Vertiv in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC raised its position in Vertiv by 200.0% in 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 bought a new stake in Vertiv in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Hedge funds and other 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.