Vertiv (NYSE:VRT) Shares Down 4.5% Following Insider Selling

Vertiv Holdings Co (NYSE:VRT)’s share price was down 4.5% during trading on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $124.52 and last traded at $125.81. Approximately 2,940,270 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 64% from the average daily volume of 8,187,053 shares. The stock had previously closed at $131.74.

Specifically, EVP Stephen Liang sold 86,619 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.07, for a total transaction of $11,353,152.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,562,549.57. This represents a 81.59 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jan Van Dokkum sold 38,647 shares of Vertiv stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.39, for a total value of $5,271,064.33. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 25,000 shares in the company, 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. In other Vertiv news, Director Jakki L. Haussler sold 15,347 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.38, for a total value of $2,108,370.86. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,425 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $470,526.50. This trade represents a 81.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their target price on Vertiv from $134.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Vertiv in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $155.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Vertiv in a report on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $125.00 price target on the stock. TD Cowen increased their target price on Vertiv from $115.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Vertiv from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $138.50.

Vertiv Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $113.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $95.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.65 billion, a PE ratio of 84.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.58.

Vertiv (NYSE:VRT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.98 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Vertiv Holdings Co will post 2.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vertiv Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.0375 per share. This represents a $0.15 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.12%. This is an increase from Vertiv’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.03. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 3rd. Vertiv’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6.67%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Krane Funds Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertiv in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Vertiv in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Global Trust Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Vertiv during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Vertiv in the third quarter worth $30,000. 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.