Vertiv (NYSE:VRT) Trading Up 2.9% - What's Next?

Vertiv Holdings Co. (NYSE:VRT - Get Free Report) shares rose 2.9% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $129.43 and last traded at $127.92. Approximately 4,003,595 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 53% from the average daily volume of 8,540,647 shares. The stock had previously closed at $124.33.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Vertiv from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. 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. Roth Capital raised Vertiv to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on shares of Vertiv in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $121.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Vertiv from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 21st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $126.69.

Vertiv Trading Up 2.9%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.72 and a quick ratio of 1.28. The firm's fifty day moving average is $109.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $103.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.75 billion, a PE ratio of 74.37, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.75.

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 firm had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.94 billion. Vertiv had a net margin of 7.92% and a return on equity of 56.01%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.43 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Vertiv Holdings Co. will post 3.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vertiv Increases Dividend

The firm 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. 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 0.14%. Vertiv's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.72%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Stephen Liang sold 43,683 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 9,551 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,106,292.33. This represents a 82.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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 transaction of $518,815.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 18,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,777,837.51. This represents a 22.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.63% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertiv

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. GW&K Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertiv in the first quarter valued at $26,000. SouthState Corp purchased a new stake in Vertiv in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. North Star Investment Management Corp. increased its holdings in Vertiv by 4,120.0% in the 1st quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 422 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 412 shares during the last quarter. Sachetta LLC raised its stake in Vertiv by 242.0% in the 1st quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 448 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares during the period. Finally, Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new stake in Vertiv during the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.92% of the company's stock.

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.