Vertiv (NYSE:VRT) Stock Price Up 1.2% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Vertiv Holdings Co.'s stock price increased by 1.2% during mid-day trading, reaching a last reported price of $139.15. The trading volume was significantly lower than usual, at about 2.5 million shares.
• Recent analyst reports show a positive outlook for Vertiv, with multiple upgrades, including a target price increase to $165.00 from various analysts, contributing to a consensus rating of "Buy".
• The company announced a dividend increase to $0.0375, reflecting a positive change from the previous dividend, with a yield of 0.14% and a payout ratio of 8.72%.

Vertiv Holdings Co. (NYSE:VRT - Get Free Report)'s stock price rose 1.2% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $141.11 and last traded at $139.15. Approximately 2,526,233 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 9,365,462 shares. The stock had previously closed at $137.47.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Vertiv from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Melius upgraded shares of Vertiv from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $165.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Vertiv from $130.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Vertiv in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Melius Research upgraded 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 report on Tuesday, July 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vertiv presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $136.76.

Vertiv Trading Up 3.4%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The company has a market cap of $54.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 82.61, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.75. The firm's 50 day moving average is $118.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $103.98.

Vertiv Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 17th were issued a $0.0375 dividend. This is a positive change from Vertiv's previous dividend of $0.01. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a yield of 0.14%. Vertiv's payout ratio is presently 8.72%.

Insider Activity

In other Vertiv news, insider Karsten Winther sold 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.33, for a total value of $518,815.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 18,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,777,837.51. This trade represents a 22.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Stephen Liang sold 43,683 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.83, for a total transaction of $5,059,801.89. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 9,551 shares of the company's stock, 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. 5.01% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vertiv

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VRT. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its position in Vertiv by 95.3% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,167,536 shares of the company's stock worth $135,621,000 after purchasing an additional 569,722 shares during the period. Bedell Frazier Investment Counselling LLC purchased a new position in Vertiv in the 4th quarter worth $415,000. Ibex Wealth Advisors raised its position in Vertiv by 10.5% in the 1st quarter. Ibex Wealth Advisors now owns 73,739 shares of the company's stock worth $5,324,000 after purchasing an additional 6,989 shares during the period. Gallo Partners LP purchased a new position in Vertiv in the 4th quarter worth $1,826,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new position in Vertiv in the 4th quarter worth $597,379,000. 89.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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