Westport Asset Management Inc. Takes $578,000 Position in Vertiv Holdings Co. $VRT

Key Points

• Westport Asset Management Inc. invested approximately $578,000 in Vertiv Holdings Co. by purchasing 8,000 shares in the 1st quarter, according to its 13F filing with the SEC.
• Several institutional investors, including Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC and Utah Retirement Systems, have also increased their stakes in Vertiv during the 4th quarter, indicating a growing interest in the company.
• Analysts have issued positive ratings for Vertiv, with Mizuho raising its price target from $125.00 to $150.00 and Melius upgrading the stock to a "buy" with a target price of $165.00.

Westport Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Vertiv Holdings Co. (NYSE:VRT - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 8,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $578,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of VRT. MML Investors Services LLC raised its holdings in Vertiv by 26.3% in the 4th quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 38,803 shares of the company's stock worth $4,408,000 after purchasing an additional 8,087 shares during the period. IHT Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertiv during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $211,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in shares of Vertiv by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 279,053 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,813,000 after acquiring an additional 29,559 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 77,859 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinebridge Investments L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Vertiv by 500.4% during the fourth quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 40,568 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,609,000 after acquiring an additional 33,811 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.92% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on VRT shares. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Vertiv from $143.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Bank of America increased their target price on Vertiv from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Redburn Atlantic raised Vertiv to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. William Blair started coverage on Vertiv in a report on Monday, July 28th. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Vertiv in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Vertiv presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $142.00.

Vertiv Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VRT traded down $0.90 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $125.07. The company had a trading volume of 4,607,954 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,698,873. Vertiv Holdings Co. has a twelve month low of $53.60 and a twelve month high of $155.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.74 and a quick ratio of 1.35. The stock has a market cap of $47.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.77. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $130.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $105.58.

Vertiv (NYSE:VRT - Get Free Report) last posted 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. Vertiv had a return on equity of 51.64% and a net margin of 8.93%.The firm had revenue of $2.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.36 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.67 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 35.1% on a year-over-year basis. Vertiv has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 0.940-1.000 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Vertiv Holdings Co. will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Vertiv Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Vertiv

In related news, insider Karsten Winther sold 41,654 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 18,848 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,529,590.08. This represents a 68.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Stephen Liang sold 43,683 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 9,551 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,106,292.33. This represents a 82.06% 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.

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.