Vertiv (NYSE:VRT) Trading 5.1% Higher – Time to Buy?

Shares of Vertiv Holdings Co (NYSE:VRT) rose 5.1% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $120.28 and last traded at $120.39. Approximately 3,811,240 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 63% from the average daily volume of 10,182,411 shares. The stock had previously closed at $114.60.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on VRT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Vertiv from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Melius cut shares of Vertiv from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $125.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Vertiv in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $142.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Vertiv in a report on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $125.00 target price for the company. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Vertiv from $141.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertiv currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $139.36.

Vertiv Stock Up 3.1 %

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $126.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $105.81. The firm has a market cap of $44.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 78.11, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.38.

Vertiv Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 3rd were issued a $0.0375 dividend. This represents a $0.15 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.13%. This is a boost from Vertiv’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.03. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 3rd. Vertiv’s payout ratio is presently 6.67%.

Insider Activity

In other Vertiv news, insider Anand Sanghi sold 30,914 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.46, for a total value of $4,373,094.44. Following the sale, the insider now owns 19,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,751,114.08. This trade represents a 61.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Stephen Liang sold 86,619 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.07, for a total value of $11,353,152.33. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,551 shares in the company, valued at $2,562,549.57. This represents a 81.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 171,527 shares of company stock worth $23,105,682 over the last three months. Insiders own 5.01% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vertiv

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in Vertiv by 10,825.0% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,600,415 shares of the company’s stock worth $457,695,000 after buying an additional 4,558,306 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Vertiv by 271.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,915,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $389,548,000 after buying an additional 2,860,181 shares during the period. Castle Hook Partners LP lifted its holdings in shares of Vertiv by 215.6% in the 3rd quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 1,864,426 shares of the company’s stock worth $185,492,000 after purchasing an additional 1,273,746 shares during the last quarter. Whale Rock Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Vertiv in the third quarter valued at $110,517,000. Finally, Blue Whale Capital LLP bought a new position in Vertiv in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $93,481,000. 89.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.