Costello Asset Management INC Makes New Investment in Vertiv Holdings Co. (NYSE:VRT)

Key Points

• Costello Asset Management INC has invested $325,000 in Vertiv Holdings Co., acquiring 4,497 shares in the first quarter, reflecting increased interest from institutional investors in the company.
• In the fourth quarter, multiple institutions, including UBS AM and Northern Trust Corp, significantly raised their stakes in Vertiv, demonstrating confidence in the company's prospects.
• Vertiv recently announced a dividend increase to $0.0375 per share, representing a yield of 14.0%, up from a previous dividend of $0.01, with a low payout ratio of 7.18%.

Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertiv Holdings Co. (NYSE:VRT - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 4,497 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $325,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Horizon Family Wealth Inc. grew its stake in shares of Vertiv by 9.5% in the first quarter. Horizon Family Wealth Inc. now owns 3,351 shares of the company's stock worth $242,000 after purchasing an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertiv in the first quarter worth about $84,000. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Vertiv during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $379,000. Element Pointe Advisors LLC boosted its position in Vertiv by 23.1% during the 1st quarter. Element Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 13,043 shares of the company's stock valued at $942,000 after acquiring an additional 2,450 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its position in Vertiv by 18.2% during the 1st quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 225,659 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,293,000 after acquiring an additional 34,736 shares in the last quarter. 89.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Vertiv from $127.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Vertiv from $130.00 to $149.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Vertiv from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Vertiv from $143.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Vertiv in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $144.06.

Insider Transactions at Vertiv

In other news, EVP Stephen Liang sold 43,683 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.83, for a total transaction of $5,059,801.89. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 9,551 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,106,292.33. This trade represents a 82.06% 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 link. Also, insider Karsten Winther sold 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.33, for a total transaction of $518,815.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 18,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,777,837.51. This represents a 22.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.01% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Vertiv Trading Down 1.0%

Vertiv stock traded down $1.36 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $138.84. The stock had a trading volume of 5,084,088 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,007,200. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Vertiv Holdings Co. has a 52-week low of $53.60 and a 52-week high of $155.84. The firm has a market cap of $52.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 66.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a fifty day moving average of $123.19 and a 200 day moving average of $104.51.

Vertiv (NYSE:VRT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.12. Vertiv had a net margin of 8.93% and a return on equity of 51.64%. The company had revenue of $2.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.36 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.67 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 35.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Vertiv Holdings Co. will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vertiv Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th were paid a $0.0375 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a yield of 14.0%. This is an increase from Vertiv's previous dividend of $0.01. Vertiv's payout ratio is currently 7.18%.

Vertiv Company Profile

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.