Moors & Cabot Inc. Grows Position in Vertiv Holdings Co. (NYSE:VRT)

Key Points

• Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its stake in Vertiv Holdings Co. by 92.9% in the first quarter, owning a total of 13,047 shares valued at $942,000.
• Several institutional investors, including Northern Trust Corp and UBS AM, have significantly increased their holdings in Vertiv, with institutional ownership reaching 89.92% of the company's stock.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Vertiv, with target prices ranging from $125 to $173, reflecting confidence in the company's growth potential.

Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Vertiv Holdings Co. (NYSE:VRT - Free Report) by 92.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,047 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 6,285 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc.'s holdings in Vertiv were worth $942,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of VRT. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Vertiv by 21.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,713,234 shares of the company's stock valued at $308,251,000 after purchasing an additional 487,909 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in Vertiv by 15.8% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,404,712 shares of the company's stock worth $273,199,000 after acquiring an additional 327,900 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $263,000,000 after buying an additional 812,389 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Vertiv by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,112,929 shares of the company's stock valued at $240,051,000 after buying an additional 77,859 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New South Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Vertiv by 1.7% in the first quarter. New South Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,110,392 shares of the company's stock valued at $152,370,000 after purchasing an additional 34,643 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.92% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group upped their target price on Vertiv from $135.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Vertiv in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Vertiv from $130.00 to $149.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Vertiv from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Vertiv in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $144.06.

Vertiv Trading Down 2.7%

Shares of Vertiv stock opened at $141.66 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $122.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $104.68. The stock has a market cap of $53.99 billion, a PE ratio of 67.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 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 current ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Vertiv (NYSE:VRT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 8.93% and a return on equity of 51.64%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 35.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.67 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Vertiv Holdings Co. will post 3.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vertiv Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th were given a $0.0375 dividend. This is a boost from Vertiv's previous dividend of $0.01. This represents a dividend yield of 14.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Vertiv's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.18%.

Insider Activity 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 value of $5,059,801.89. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 9,551 shares in the company, valued at $1,106,292.33. This 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 available through the SEC website. Also, insider Karsten Winther sold 5,500 shares of Vertiv stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider directly owned 18,847 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,777,837.51. The trade was 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 corporate insiders.

Vertiv 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.

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