Vertiv (NYSE:VRT) Trading 1.5% Higher Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Vertiv Holdings Co. (NYSE:VRT - Get Free Report) traded up 1.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $90.00 to $110.00. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Vertiv traded as high as $129.10 and last traded at $127.72. 1,296,997 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 8,516,128 shares. The stock had previously closed at $125.89.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on VRT. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Vertiv in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Vertiv from $98.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Vertiv from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, June 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Vertiv from $106.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, KGI Securities began coverage on shares of Vertiv in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $132.94.

Insider Transactions at Vertiv

In other Vertiv news, insider Karsten Winther sold 5,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.33, for a total transaction of $518,815.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 18,847 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,777,837.51. The trade was a 22.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 9,551 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,106,292.33. The trade was a 82.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 5.01% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Vertiv

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VRT. Garde Capital Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Vertiv by 1,886.7% in the second quarter. Garde Capital Inc. now owns 298 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its holdings in Vertiv by 211.9% during the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 315 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the period. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Vertiv in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. GW&K Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Vertiv in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Vertiv by 150.7% during the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 371 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. 89.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Vertiv Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $48.95 billion, a PE ratio of 74.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.75. The business's 50-day moving average price is $110.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $103.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.72.

Vertiv (NYSE:VRT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.94 billion. Vertiv had a return on equity of 56.01% and a net margin of 7.92%. The firm's revenue was up 24.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.43 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Vertiv Holdings Co. will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Vertiv Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th were given a dividend of $0.0375 per share. This is an increase 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.72%.

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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