Vertiv (NYSE:VRT) Shares Down 2.1% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Vertiv Holdings Co. shares experienced a decline of 2.1%, closing at $137.23 after trading as low as $135.35, with a significant drop in trading volume to 1.9 million shares.
• Analyst ratings are generally positive, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and price targets ranging from $128.00 to $162.00, indicating strong future expectations for the stock.
• Vertiv has recently increased its dividend yield to 14.0%, with a dividend payout ratio of 7.18%, representing a substantial boost from its previous dividend of $0.01.

Vertiv Holdings Co. (NYSE:VRT - Get Free Report) shares fell 2.1% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $135.35 and last traded at $137.23. 1,915,991 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 9,473,013 shares. The stock had previously closed at $140.20.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on VRT. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Vertiv from $140.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Barclays set a $128.00 price objective on Vertiv and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Wolfe Research reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $155.00 price target on shares of Vertiv in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Citigroup increased their price target on Vertiv from $130.00 to $149.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Vertiv from $143.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertiv has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $144.06.

Vertiv Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market cap of $53.00 billion, a PE ratio of 66.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.77. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $123.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $104.51.

Vertiv (NYSE:VRT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 8.93% and a return on equity of 51.64%. The business had revenue of $2.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.36 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.67 EPS. The business's revenue was up 35.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Vertiv Holdings Co. will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vertiv Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th were given a dividend of $0.0375 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 14.0%. This is a boost from Vertiv's previous dividend of $0.01. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. Vertiv's dividend payout ratio is 7.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vertiv news, insider Karsten Winther sold 5,500 shares of Vertiv stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.33, for a total value of $518,815.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 18,847 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,777,837.51. The trade was a 22.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Stephen Liang sold 43,683 shares of Vertiv stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.83, for a total transaction of $5,059,801.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 9,551 shares in the company, valued at $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. Company insiders own 5.01% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertiv

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VRT. Ibex Wealth Advisors increased its holdings in Vertiv by 10.5% in the first quarter. Ibex Wealth Advisors now owns 73,739 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,324,000 after buying an additional 6,989 shares in the last quarter. Gallo Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Vertiv during the fourth quarter worth about $1,826,000. Viking Fund Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Vertiv by 123.5% during the first quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC now owns 38,000 shares of the company's stock worth $2,744,000 after purchasing an additional 21,000 shares in the last quarter. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertiv during the first quarter worth about $475,000. Finally, Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Vertiv during the fourth quarter worth about $11,400,000. 89.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.