LGT Group Foundation Lowers Stock Holdings in Vertiv Holdings Co. (NYSE:VRT)

Key Points

• LGT Group Foundation has reduced its stake in Vertiv Holdings Co. by 4.9%, selling 2,189 shares to hold a total of 42,073 shares valued at approximately $3.04 million.
• Despite the sale, institutional investors dominate Vertiv's ownership, holding 89.92% of the company’s stock, indicating strong institutional confidence in the company’s future.
• Vertiv has received several positive ratings from analysts, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a price target of $144.06, suggesting potential for price appreciation.

LGT Group Foundation lessened its stake in Vertiv Holdings Co. (NYSE:VRT - Free Report) by 4.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 42,073 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,189 shares during the quarter. LGT Group Foundation's holdings in Vertiv were worth $3,038,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of VRT. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in Vertiv by 321.7% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 508,259 shares of the company's stock worth $37,001,000 after purchasing an additional 387,719 shares during the period. Prudential PLC raised its holdings in Vertiv by 24.1% in the 1st quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 79,525 shares of the company's stock worth $5,742,000 after purchasing an additional 15,446 shares during the period. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd acquired a new position in Vertiv in the 1st quarter worth about $23,609,000. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Vertiv by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 106,687 shares of the company's stock worth $7,732,000 after purchasing an additional 6,501 shares during the period. Finally, Telligent Fund LP raised its holdings in Vertiv by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Telligent Fund LP now owns 21,000 shares of the company's stock worth $1,516,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.92% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Stephen Liang sold 43,683 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 9,551 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,106,292.33. This represents a 82.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 2.63% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on VRT shares. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Vertiv from $143.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Vertiv in a research note on Sunday. Melius upgraded Vertiv from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $165.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. William Blair began coverage on Vertiv in a research note on Monday, July 28th. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. Finally, Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Vertiv in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Three research 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, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $144.06.

Vertiv Price Performance

Shares of VRT stock traded down $4.95 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $132.45. The company had a trading volume of 8,116,607 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,337,167. The company has a market capitalization of $50.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.37, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.77. Vertiv Holdings Co. has a 12-month low of $53.60 and a 12-month high of $155.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 1.74. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $127.37 and a 200-day moving average of $104.81.

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

Vertiv Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 17th were given a $0.0375 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This is a positive change from Vertiv's previous dividend of $0.01. This represents a yield of 14.0%. Vertiv's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.