Vertiv Holdings Co. (NYSE:VRT) Shares Sold by Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC

Key Points

• Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC sold 3,156 shares of Vertiv Holdings Co., decreasing its holdings by 43.2%, leaving it with 4,158 shares valued at $300,000 as per its latest SEC filing.
• Notable activity included insider sales, with EVP Stephen Liang selling 43,683 shares and insider Karsten Winther selling 5,500 shares of Vertiv stock.
• Analysts have shown a positive outlook on Vertiv, with multiple upgrades and a consensus rating of "Buy," while its average price target has risen to $136.76.

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC cut its stake in Vertiv Holdings Co. (NYSE:VRT - Free Report) by 43.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,158 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,156 shares during the quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC's holdings in Vertiv were worth $300,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its holdings in shares of Vertiv by 211.9% in the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 315 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Vertiv in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. BNP Paribas bought a new stake in shares of Vertiv in the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. North Star Investment Management Corp. lifted its stake in shares of Vertiv by 4,120.0% in the 1st quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 422 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 412 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sachetta LLC raised its position in Vertiv by 242.0% during the 1st quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 448 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. 89.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Roth Mkm initiated coverage on Vertiv in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. They set a "buy" rating and a $75.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Vertiv from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 21st. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Vertiv in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Vertiv from $140.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, KGI Securities assumed coverage on Vertiv in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $139.50.

Insider Activity at Vertiv

In related news, EVP Stephen Liang sold 43,683 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.83, for a total value of $5,059,801.89. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 9,551 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,106,292.33. This represents a 82.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 sale, the insider directly owned 18,847 shares in the company, valued at $1,777,837.51. This trade represents a 22.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.63% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Vertiv Trading Up 3.2%

Shares of NYSE:VRT traded up $4.64 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $148.81. 4,268,795 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,487,644. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.72 and a quick ratio of 1.28. Vertiv Holdings Co. has a 1 year low of $53.60 and a 1 year high of $155.84. The firm has a market cap of $56.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 86.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.75. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $120.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $104.63.

Vertiv (NYSE:VRT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.12. Vertiv had a net margin of 7.92% and a return on equity of 56.01%. The firm had revenue of $2.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.36 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.67 EPS. Vertiv's revenue for the quarter was up 35.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Vertiv Holdings Co. will post 3.59 EPS for the current year.

Vertiv Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 17th were issued a $0.0375 dividend. This represents a yield of 0.14%. This is an increase from Vertiv's previous dividend of $0.01. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. Vertiv's payout ratio is presently 8.72%.

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.