Vertiv (NYSE:VRT) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Shares of Vertiv Holdings Co (NYSE:VRT) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $110.46, but opened at $115.95. Vertiv shares last traded at $114.07, with a volume of 2,527,854 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on VRT shares. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Vertiv in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $142.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Vertiv in a report on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $125.00 price target for the company. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Vertiv from $141.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Vertiv from $121.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Vertiv from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertiv currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $139.36.

Vertiv Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $125.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $106.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.97 billion, a PE ratio of 78.10, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Vertiv Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 3rd were given a dividend of $0.0375 per share. This represents a $0.15 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.13%. This is a positive change from Vertiv’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.03. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 3rd. Vertiv’s payout ratio is 6.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Jakki L. Haussler sold 15,347 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.38, for a total value of $2,108,370.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,425 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $470,526.50. This represents a 81.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Stephen Liang sold 86,619 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,551 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,562,549.57. This represents a 81.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 171,527 shares of company stock worth $23,105,682. Company insiders own 5.01% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vertiv

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VRT. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in Vertiv by 68.6% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 7,754,347 shares of the company’s stock worth $880,971,000 after purchasing an additional 3,153,932 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Vertiv by 4.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,635,081 shares of the company’s stock worth $759,614,000 after purchasing an additional 308,704 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Vertiv by 7.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,951,784 shares of the company’s stock worth $592,433,000 after buying an additional 408,054 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Vertiv by 271.0% during the third 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 last quarter. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP grew its holdings in Vertiv by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 3,611,566 shares of the company’s stock valued at $359,315,000 after buying an additional 40,696 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.