Freemont Management S.A. Grows Position in Vertiv Holdings Co. (NYSE:VRT)

Key Points

• Freemont Management S.A. increased its stake in Vertiv Holdings Co. by 43.4%, owning a total of 60,800 shares worth approximately $4.39 million.
• Analysts have generally favorable views on Vertiv, with three giving a hold rating, fifteen a buy rating, and three a strong buy rating, resulting in a consensus price target of $136.76.
• Vertiv recently announced a dividend increase, raising its payout from $0.01 to $0.0375 per share, reflecting a yield of 0.14% with a low payout ratio of 8.72%.

Freemont Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Vertiv Holdings Co. (NYSE:VRT - Free Report) by 43.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 60,800 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 18,400 shares during the quarter. Vertiv comprises 1.4% of Freemont Management S.A.'s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Freemont Management S.A.'s holdings in Vertiv were worth $4,390,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRT. GW&K Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Vertiv in the first quarter worth about $26,000. North Star Investment Management Corp. boosted its holdings in Vertiv by 4,120.0% in the first quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 422 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 412 shares in the last quarter. Sachetta LLC boosted its holdings in Vertiv by 242.0% in the first quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 448 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its holdings in Vertiv by 211.9% in the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 315 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Vertiv in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Institutional investors own 89.92% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Roth Capital raised Vertiv to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. Wall Street Zen raised Vertiv from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, June 21st. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Vertiv from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. KGI Securities initiated coverage on Vertiv in a report on Thursday, April 24th. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Vertiv from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $136.76.

Vertiv Price Performance

Shares of VRT traded up $6.65 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $137.52. 8,225,774 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,826,359. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.72. Vertiv Holdings Co. has a 12-month low of $53.60 and a 12-month high of $155.84. The company has a market cap of $52.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.75. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $118.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $104.33.

Vertiv (NYSE:VRT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.94 billion. Vertiv had a return on equity of 56.01% and a net margin of 7.92%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 24.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.43 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Vertiv Holdings Co. will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a $0.0375 dividend. This is a boost from Vertiv's previous dividend of $0.01. This represents a yield of 0.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. Vertiv's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertiv

In other news, insider Karsten Winther sold 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.33, for a total transaction of $518,815.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 18,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,777,837.51. This represents a 22.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Stephen Liang sold 43,683 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.83, for a total value of $5,059,801.89. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 9,551 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,106,292.33. This represents a 82.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.63% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.