Vertiv (NYSE:VRT) Stock Price Down 3.6% on Insider Selling

Vertiv Holdings Co (NYSE:VRT) fell 3.6% during trading on Thursday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $124.52 and last traded at $126.94. 7,384,648 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 10% from the average session volume of 8,209,171 shares. The stock had previously closed at $131.74.

Specifically, EVP Stephen Liang sold 86,619 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.07, for a total value of $11,353,152.33. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 19,551 shares in the company, valued at $2,562,549.57. This represents a 81.59 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Jan Van Dokkum sold 38,647 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was 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 $3,409,750. The trade was a 60.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In other Vertiv news, Director Jakki L. Haussler sold 15,347 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.38, for a total transaction of $2,108,370.86. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,425 shares in the company, valued at approximately $470,526.50. This trade represents a 81.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on VRT shares. Bank of America increased their target price on Vertiv from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Vertiv in a report on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $125.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Vertiv from $121.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Vertiv in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $155.00 target price on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Vertiv from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Vertiv presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.50.

Vertiv Trading Down 3.6 %

The company has a market cap of $47.65 billion, a PE ratio of 84.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.58. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $113.52 and a 200 day moving average of $95.89.

Vertiv (NYSE:VRT) last released its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.98 billion. Vertiv had a return on equity of 55.33% and a net margin of 7.72%. The firm’s revenue was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.52 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Vertiv Holdings Co will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Vertiv Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Vertiv

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRT. Bayesian Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Vertiv in the first quarter worth about $456,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Vertiv during the first quarter valued at approximately $3,018,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertiv during the first quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Vertiv during the first quarter valued at approximately $15,852,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in shares of Vertiv by 513.6% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 57,311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,681,000 after acquiring an additional 47,971 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.92% of the company’s stock.

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.