Vertiv Holdings Co. (NYSE:VRT) Stake Boosted by Bank of Nova Scotia

Bank of Nova Scotia grew its position in shares of Vertiv Holdings Co. (NYSE:VRT - Free Report) by 17.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,527 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,912 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in Vertiv were worth $1,410,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in shares of Vertiv by 58.0% in the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 9,740 shares of the company's stock worth $1,107,000 after buying an additional 3,576 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Vertiv by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 465,535 shares of the company's stock worth $52,889,000 after acquiring an additional 32,086 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Vertiv by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 48,622 shares of the company's stock worth $5,444,000 after acquiring an additional 3,893 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in Vertiv by 31.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 267,629 shares of the company's stock worth $30,405,000 after acquiring an additional 63,348 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Shelton Capital Management acquired a new position in Vertiv in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $568,000. 89.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on VRT shares. Citigroup raised their price target on Vertiv from $130.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. William Blair started coverage on Vertiv in a research note on Monday, July 28th. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Evercore ISI restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Vertiv in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Wolfe Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $155.00 price objective on shares of Vertiv in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Barclays set a $128.00 target price on shares of Vertiv and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vertiv has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $144.06.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Stephen Liang sold 43,683 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 9,551 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,106,292.33. This represents a 82.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.63% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Vertiv Price Performance

NYSE:VRT traded up $0.51 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $139.90. 3,728,787 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,917,655. The company has a market capitalization of $53.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 66.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 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 business's 50-day simple moving average is $125.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $105.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Vertiv (NYSE:VRT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts' expectations of $2.36 billion. Vertiv had a return on equity of 51.64% and a net margin of 8.93%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 35.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.67 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Vertiv Holdings Co. will post 3.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vertiv Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th were issued a $0.0375 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This is an increase from Vertiv's previous dividend of $0.01. This represents a dividend yield of 14.0%. Vertiv's dividend payout ratio 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.