Vertiv (NYSE:VRT) Shares Up 4% - Should You Buy?

Vertiv Holdings Co (NYSE:VRT - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded up 4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $119.17 and last traded at $118.12. 1,499,886 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 7,981,975 shares. The stock had previously closed at $113.61.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Vertiv from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays started coverage on Vertiv in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $142.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group initiated coverage on Vertiv in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a "buy" rating and a $155.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Vertiv from $115.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Vertiv from $141.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertiv has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $140.09.

Vertiv Stock Up 4.1 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The company has a market capitalization of $44.40 billion, a PE ratio of 78.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.61. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $122.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $100.30.

Vertiv (NYSE:VRT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.07. Vertiv had a return on equity of 55.33% and a net margin of 7.72%. The company had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.98 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Vertiv Holdings Co will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vertiv Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd were paid a $0.0375 dividend. This is a positive change from Vertiv's previous quarterly dividend of $0.03. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 3rd. This represents a $0.15 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.13%. Vertiv's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vertiv news, insider Anand Sanghi sold 30,914 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.46, for a total value of $4,373,094.44. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,448 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,751,114.08. This represents a 61.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jan Van Dokkum sold 38,647 shares of Vertiv stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.39, for a total transaction of $5,271,064.33. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 25,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,409,750. This trade represents a 60.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 171,527 shares of company stock valued at $23,105,682 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 5.01% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertiv

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertiv in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Krane Funds Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Vertiv in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Global Trust Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertiv in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC grew its position in shares of Vertiv by 200.0% during the third quarter. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC now owns 300 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Vertiv in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. 89.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.