Vertiv (NYSE:VRT) Shares Up 4.9% on Strong Earnings

Vertiv Holdings Co (NYSE:VRT - Get Free Report) shares shot up 4.9% on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $90.46 and last traded at $88.72. 6,834,540 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 13% from the average session volume of 7,879,651 shares. The stock had previously closed at $84.57.

The company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.06. Vertiv had a net margin of 6.71% and a return on equity of 39.46%. The business had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.24 earnings per share. Vertiv's revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year.

Vertiv Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 19th were issued a $0.025 dividend. This represents a $0.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 18th. Vertiv's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Vertiv from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Vertiv from $102.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Vertiv from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Vertiv from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Vertiv from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertiv presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $76.78.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Stephen Liang sold 306,196 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.24, for a total transaction of $21,507,207.04. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 51,841 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,641,311.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Stephen Liang sold 306,196 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.24, for a total transaction of $21,507,207.04. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 51,841 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,641,311.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Scott Cripps sold 56,594 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.76, for a total transaction of $4,004,591.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.62% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Atticus Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Vertiv during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of Vertiv by 66.7% in the 1st quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 500 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertiv in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Vertiv by 79.0% in the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 571 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the period. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Vertiv by 161.7% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 662 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 409 shares during the period. 89.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vertiv Stock Up 6.8 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $34.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 76.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.59. The business's 50-day moving average is $75.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 1.74.

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.