Prudential PLC Grows Position in Vertiv Holdings Co. (NYSE:VRT)

Key Points

• Prudential PLC increased its stake in Vertiv Holdings Co. by 24.1% during the first quarter, now holding 79,525 shares valued at approximately $5.74 million.
• Wall Street analysts have given Vertiv a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy", with price targets ranging from $144.06 to $165.00.
• Vertiv recently announced a dividend increase to $0.0375 per share, representing a yield of 14.0%, up from a previous dividend of $0.01.

Prudential PLC grew its holdings in Vertiv Holdings Co. (NYSE:VRT - Free Report) by 24.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 79,525 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 15,446 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC's holdings in Vertiv were worth $5,742,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Colonial Trust Co SC lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 214 shares during the period. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vertiv during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. GW&K Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertiv during the first quarter worth about $26,000. SouthState Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Vertiv during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, BNP Paribas acquired a new stake in shares of Vertiv during the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.92% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Vertiv from $140.00 to $151.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Melius Research upgraded Vertiv from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $134.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Evercore ISI restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Vertiv in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Wolfe Research restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $155.00 price objective on shares of Vertiv in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on Vertiv from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Three investment 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertiv has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $144.06.

Vertiv Stock Down 3.6%

NYSE VRT traded down $4.95 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $132.45. 8,116,607 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,774,719. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market cap of $50.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.37, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a 50 day moving average of $127.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $105.01. Vertiv Holdings Co. has a 52-week low of $53.60 and a 52-week high of $155.84.

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

Vertiv Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Vertiv

In other news, insider Karsten Winther sold 41,654 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.21, for a total value of $5,590,383.34. Following the transaction, the insider owned 18,848 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,529,590.08. This represents a 68.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Stephen Liang sold 43,683 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 9,551 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,106,292.33. The trade was 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.

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.