Vertiv Stock Rises 3.6% - Is It Time to Buy?

On Thursday, Vertiv Holdings Co (NYSE: VRT) saw its stock price increase by 3.6%. During the trading session, shares reached a high of $153.77 and last changed hands at $154.01. A total of 2,199,139 shares were traded at midday, which is a decrease of 63% compared to the average volume of 6,016,892 shares. The stock had previously closed at $148.59.

Analyst Ratings

Several financial analysts have recently shared their opinions on Vertiv. Fox Advisors began coverage of the company with an 'equal weight' rating. On the other hand, Oppenheimer raised their price target from $121.00 to $131.00 while giving Vertiv an 'outperform' rating in a note dated November 19th. Citigroup increased their target price for Vertiv from $141.00 to $155.00 and rated the stock as a 'buy' in their December 9th update. Additionally, Bank of America raised their price objective from $130.00 to $140.00, also giving it a 'buy' rating on October 24th. TD Cowen joined in by lifting their target price from $115.00 to $141.00, marking a 'buy' rating in their report on November 19th. The stock has been rated as a hold by two analysts, while eleven have issued a buy rating. According to MarketBeat, Vertiv has an average rating of 'Moderate Buy' and a mean price target of $141.75.

Financial Performance

Earlier this quarter, Vertiv reported its financial outcomes on October 23rd. The company posted earnings of $0.76 per share, surpassing the expected $0.69 by $0.07. Vertiv generated $2.07 billion in revenue, which exceeded analyst estimates of $1.98 billion. The company noted a return on equity of 55.33% and a net margin of 7.72%, with revenue gaining 19.0% compared to the previous year. Last year during the same quarter, the earned earnings per share were $0.52. Analysts have an optimistic projection, expecting that Vertiv Holdings Co will report an earnings per share of 2.7 for the current year.

Dividend Update

Vertiv recently announced a quarterly dividend that was paid on December 19th. Shareholders recorded as of December 3rd received a dividend of $0.0375 per share, translating to an annualized dividend of $0.15, which equates to a yield of 0.10%. This represents an increase from the prior dividend of $0.03. The ex-dividend date was December 3rd, and the company's dividend payout ratio now stands at 6.67%.

Insider Transactions

In recent insider activity, EVP Stephen Liang sold 86,619 shares of Vertiv on November 26th at an average price of $131.07, raising over $11 million from the transaction. Post-sale, he retains ownership of 19,551 shares worth approximately $2.56 million, indicating an 81.59% reduction in his stock holdings. Furthermore, Director Jakki L. Haussler sold 15,347 shares on November 20th at an average of $137.38, for a transaction total of about $2.11 million, leaving her with 3,425 shares valued at roughly $470,526, reflecting an 81.75% decrease in her stake. In the last 90 days, insiders sold a total of 171,527 shares amounting to over $23 million, and insiders currently own 5.01% of the shares.

Institutional Investor Activity

Institutional investors have been actively managing stakes in Vertiv. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings by 68.6% in the fourth quarter, owning 7,754,347 shares valued at about $880 million after acquiring an additional 3,153,932 shares. State Street Corp raised its position by 4.2% during the third quarter, now holding 7,635,081 shares worth $759.6 million after adding 308,704 shares. Meanwhile, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake by 7.4%, holding 5,951,784 shares valued at around $592.4 million. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its investment by 271.0%, owning 3,915,446 shares valued at approximately $389.5 million. Lastly, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP slightly increased its stake by 1.1%, now holding 3,611,566 shares worth about $359.3 million. Institutional and hedge fund ownership now accounts for 89.92% of the company's stock.

Overview of Vertiv

Vertiv Holdings Co specializes in the design, manufacture, and service of essential digital infrastructure technologies and lifecycle services for data centers, communication networks, as well as commercial and industrial environments globally.

Vertiv, Stocks, Trading