Vertiv (NYSE:VRT) Shares Up 2.5% - What's Next?

Vertiv Holdings Co. (NYSE:VRT - Get Free Report)'s share price rose 2.5% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $125.45 and last traded at $124.72. Approximately 1,935,509 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 8,612,529 shares. The stock had previously closed at $121.64.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on VRT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Vertiv from $100.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Barclays lowered their price target on Vertiv from $100.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 4th. Roth Mkm started coverage on shares of Vertiv in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. They set a "buy" rating and a $75.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Vertiv from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, KGI Securities assumed coverage on shares of Vertiv in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vertiv presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $126.69.

Vertiv Trading Up 1.9%

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $103.31 and a 200-day moving average of $103.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 72.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.73.

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

Vertiv Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be given a $0.0375 dividend. This is an increase from Vertiv's previous dividend of $0.01. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a yield of 0.14%. Vertiv's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.72%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Stephen Liang sold 43,683 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,551 shares in the company, valued at $1,106,292.33. This trade represents a 82.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Karsten Winther sold 5,500 shares of Vertiv stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.33, for a total value of $518,815.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 18,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,777,837.51. The trade was a 22.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.63% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertiv

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VRT. AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs acquired a new stake in Vertiv in the first quarter valued at $1,087,000. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in Vertiv by 14.1% during the 1st quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 780,723 shares of the company's stock worth $56,368,000 after acquiring an additional 96,374 shares in the last quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD bought a new stake in shares of Vertiv in the 1st quarter worth about $304,000. Stanley Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Vertiv by 13.1% in the 1st quarter. Stanley Capital Management LLC now owns 259,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $18,700,000 after purchasing an additional 30,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nicola Wealth Management LTD. bought a new position in shares of Vertiv during the first quarter worth about $1,155,000. 89.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.