Vertiv (NYSE:VRT) Shares Down 2.6% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Vertiv's shares fell by 2.6% on Thursday, closing at $133.83, with a trading volume that was 76% lower than the average.
• Despite the decline, multiple analysts have provided optimistic forecasts, with price targets ranging from $151 to $165, and an overall consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Vertiv announced a **dividend increase** to $0.0375 per share, up from the previous $0.01, reflecting a dividend yield of 14.0%.

Vertiv Holdings Co. (NYSE:VRT - Get Free Report)'s share price was down 2.6% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $132.31 and last traded at $133.83. Approximately 2,223,261 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 9,297,333 shares. The stock had previously closed at $137.40.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on VRT. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Vertiv from $140.00 to $151.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Melius Research raised shares of Vertiv from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $134.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Roth Capital lifted their price target on shares of Vertiv from $100.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Vertiv from $130.00 to $149.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Vertiv from $125.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $144.06.

Vertiv Stock Down 3.3%

The company has a market capitalization of $50.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.62, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 1.74. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $127.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $104.81.

Vertiv (NYSE:VRT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $2.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.36 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.67 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 35.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Vertiv Holdings Co. will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vertiv Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Vertiv

In related news, EVP Stephen Liang sold 43,683 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 9,551 shares in the company, valued at $1,106,292.33. The trade was a 82.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.63% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Vertiv

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vertiv by 23.4% during the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 6,160 shares of the company's stock valued at $700,000 after acquiring an additional 1,170 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Vertiv by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 485,798 shares of the company's stock valued at $55,192,000 after acquiring an additional 54,212 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vertiv by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 51,870 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,894,000 after acquiring an additional 5,097 shares in the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board bought a new position in shares of Vertiv during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,501,000. Finally, United Capital Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vertiv by 54.2% during the fourth quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 16,434 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,867,000 after acquiring an additional 5,779 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.92% of the company's stock.

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.

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