Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Sells 608,637 Shares of Vertiv Holdings Co. (NYSE:VRT)

Key Points

• Lord Abbett & CO. LLC has significantly reduced its stake in Vertiv Holdings Co. by 59.2%, now holding 420,168 shares valued at approximately $30.3 million.
• Vertiv's stock recently experienced a 3.6% decline and has a market capitalization of $50.58 billion, with a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.37.
• The company announced an increase in its dividend to $0.0375 per share, providing a dividend yield of 14.0%, showcasing strong financial performance.

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC trimmed its position in Vertiv Holdings Co. (NYSE:VRT - Free Report) by 59.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 420,168 shares of the company's stock after selling 608,637 shares during the quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC owned 0.11% of Vertiv worth $30,336,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Vertiv by 3.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,715,159 shares of the company's stock worth $2,723,034,000 after purchasing an additional 1,359,070 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertiv during the first quarter worth $77,820,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vertiv by 54.1% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,314,934 shares of the company's stock worth $263,000,000 after purchasing an additional 812,389 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Vertiv by 21.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,713,234 shares of the company's stock worth $308,251,000 after purchasing an additional 487,909 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vertiv by 370.7% during the fourth quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 607,384 shares of the company's stock worth $69,005,000 after purchasing an additional 478,350 shares during the last quarter. 89.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Karsten Winther sold 41,654 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.21, for a total transaction of $5,590,383.34. Following the sale, the insider owned 18,848 shares in the company, valued at $2,529,590.08. The trade was a 68.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Stephen Liang sold 43,683 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 9,551 shares in the company, valued at $1,106,292.33. This trade represents a 82.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.63% of the company's stock.

Vertiv Price Performance

VRT stock traded up $0.34 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $132.86. 6,204,076 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,781,719. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.74 billion, a PE ratio of 63.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.77. Vertiv Holdings Co. has a 52 week low of $53.60 and a 52 week high of $155.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.74 and a quick ratio of 1.35. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $128.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $105.20.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $2.64 billion for 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%. Vertiv's quarterly revenue was up 35.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.67 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Vertiv Holdings Co. will post 3.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vertiv Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 17th were given a dividend of $0.0375 per share. 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 7.18%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on VRT. Bank of America raised their price target on Vertiv from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Vertiv from $140.00 to $151.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Vertiv in a report on Sunday, August 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Vertiv from $127.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, William Blair assumed coverage on Vertiv in a research note on Monday, July 28th. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $144.06.

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.