Viking Fund Management LLC Sells 7,000 Shares of Vertiv Holdings Co. $VRT

Key Points

• Viking Fund Management LLC trimmed its Vertiv stake by 21.2% in Q4, selling 7,000 shares and retaining 26,000 shares worth about $4.21 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• Company insiders have been heavy sellers recently — including Director Steven Reinemund (65,000 shares) and Chairman David M. Cote (40,000 shares) — with insiders offloading a total of 489,761 shares valued at $123.36 million in the last 90 days.
• Analysts rate Vertiv a consensus "Moderate Buy" with a $230.28 price target (Barclays recently raised its target to $281), while the stock trades near $270 and has a market cap around $103.5 billion.

Viking Fund Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Vertiv Holdings Co. (NYSE:VRT - Free Report) by 21.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 26,000 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,000 shares during the quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC's holdings in Vertiv were worth $4,212,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Vertiv during the second quarter valued at $538,132,000. Winslow Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertiv during the 2nd quarter valued at about $459,284,000. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its position in shares of Vertiv by 148.0% during the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,828,750 shares of the company's stock valued at $275,885,000 after purchasing an additional 1,091,210 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Vertiv by 20.9% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,931,488 shares of the company's stock worth $761,662,000 after purchasing an additional 1,024,634 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in shares of Vertiv by 934.8% in the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,098,150 shares of the company's stock worth $165,667,000 after buying an additional 992,031 shares in the last quarter. 89.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays raised their price target on Vertiv from $200.00 to $281.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Roth Mkm reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $275.00 target price on shares of Vertiv in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Wolfe Research cut shares of Vertiv from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Vertiv from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 14th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Vertiv in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertiv currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $230.28.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Steven Reinemund sold 65,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.95, for a total transaction of $16,506,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 68,333 shares in the company, valued at $17,353,165.35. The trade was a 48.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman David M. Cote sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.29, for a total value of $10,211,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 22,258 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,682,244.82. The trade was a 64.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 489,761 shares of company stock valued at $123,356,815. 5.01% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Vertiv Stock Up 5.7%

NYSE VRT opened at $270.47 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. Vertiv Holdings Co. has a 52 week low of $53.60 and a 52 week high of $276.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $103.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.32, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 2.02. The company has a fifty day moving average of $226.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $187.74.

Vertiv (NYSE:VRT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.89 billion. Vertiv had a net margin of 13.03% and a return on equity of 49.55%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 22.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.99 earnings per share. Vertiv has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.950-1.010 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 5.970-6.070 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Vertiv Holdings Co. will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Vertiv Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.0625 per share. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 17th. Vertiv's payout ratio is 7.33%.

Vertiv Company Profile

Vertiv is a global provider of critical digital infrastructure and continuity solutions for data centers, communication networks and commercial and industrial environments. Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, the company designs, manufactures and services equipment and software that support power availability, thermal management and IT infrastructure management for a broad set of end markets, including hyperscale and enterprise data centers, colocation providers, telecom operators and industrial customers.

The company's product portfolio includes uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), power distribution units (PDUs), battery and DC power systems, precision cooling and thermal management equipment, racks and enclosures, and integrated modular infrastructure.

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