Natixis Advisors LLC Trims Stake in Vertiv Holdings Co. (NYSE:VRT)

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC has reduced its stake in Vertiv Holdings Co. by 30.4%, now holding 71,987 shares valued at approximately $5.2 million.
• Vertiv's stock reached $139.69, with a market cap of $53.24 billion, and reported quarterly earnings significantly exceeding analyst expectations.
• The company announced an increase in its dividend to $0.0375 per share, reflecting a dividend yield of 14.0% and a payout ratio of 7.18%.

Natixis Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of Vertiv Holdings Co. (NYSE:VRT - Free Report) by 30.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 71,987 shares of the company's stock after selling 31,499 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC's holdings in Vertiv were worth $5,197,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GW&K Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Vertiv in the first quarter valued at $26,000. North Star Investment Management Corp. raised its holdings in Vertiv by 4,120.0% during the 1st quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 422 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 412 shares during the last quarter. Sachetta LLC lifted its position in shares of Vertiv by 242.0% in the 1st quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 448 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its position in shares of Vertiv by 211.9% during the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 315 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 214 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in Vertiv in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. 89.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vertiv Stock Performance

Shares of VRT traded up $0.93 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $139.69. 4,076,225 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,929,675. The stock has a market cap of $53.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 66.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.77. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $123.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $104.75. Vertiv Holdings Co. has a 1 year low of $53.60 and a 1 year 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.

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. Vertiv had a net margin of 8.93% and a return on equity of 51.64%. The firm had revenue of $2.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.36 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.67 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 35.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Vertiv Holdings Co. will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Vertiv Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 17th were paid a dividend of $0.0375 per share. This is a positive change from Vertiv's previous dividend of $0.01. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a dividend yield of 14.0%. Vertiv's dividend payout ratio is presently 7.18%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered 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. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Vertiv from $140.00 to $151.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. William Blair started coverage on Vertiv in a research report on Monday, July 28th. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Vertiv from $135.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Vertiv in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $144.06.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertiv

In other Vertiv news, EVP Stephen Liang sold 43,683 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.83, for a total transaction of $5,059,801.89. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Karsten Winther sold 5,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. Corporate insiders own 2.63% of the company's stock.

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.