Vertiv (NYSE:VRT) Stock Price Down 2.8% on Insider Selling

Vertiv Holdings Co (NYSE:VRT)’s share price fell 2.8% during mid-day trading on Monday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $135.13 and last traded at $136.29. 2,138,548 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 8,177,827 shares. The stock had previously closed at $140.15.

Specifically, Director Jakki L. Haussler sold 15,347 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.38, for a total transaction of $2,108,370.86. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,425 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $470,526.50. The trade was a 81.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Anand Sanghi sold 30,914 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.46, for a total transaction of $4,373,094.44. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,751,114.08. The trade was a 61.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Vertiv in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $155.00 price objective for the company. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Vertiv from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Vertiv from $134.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Vertiv from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Vertiv from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.50.

Vertiv Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The company’s fifty day moving average is $111.84 and its 200 day moving average is $95.42. The company has a market cap of $49.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 88.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.58.

Vertiv (NYSE:VRT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.07. Vertiv had a net margin of 7.72% and a return on equity of 55.33%. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.98 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.52 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.0375 per share. This is a boost from Vertiv’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.03. This represents a $0.15 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 3rd. Vertiv’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.67%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of VRT. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Vertiv during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Mather Group LLC. raised its holdings in Vertiv by 132.5% in the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 351 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Krane Funds Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Vertiv in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Global Trust Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Vertiv in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC raised its holdings in Vertiv by 200.0% in the third quarter. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC now owns 300 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 89.92% of the stock is 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.