Vertiv (NYSE:VRT) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

Vertiv Holdings Co (NYSE:VRT)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $123.25, but opened at $111.08. Vertiv shares last traded at $112.52, with a volume of 5,840,777 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on VRT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Vertiv from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Vertiv from $141.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays initiated coverage on Vertiv in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $142.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Vertiv from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Vertiv in a research report on Monday, January 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $150.00 target price for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $139.36.

Vertiv Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $124.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $108.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 76.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.64.

Vertiv (NYSE:VRT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.15. Vertiv had a return on equity of 55.33% and a net margin of 7.72%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.56 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Vertiv Holdings Co will post 2.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Vertiv Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 3rd were paid a $0.0375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 3rd. This is a positive change from Vertiv’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.03. This represents a $0.15 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.13%. Vertiv’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Anand Sanghi sold 30,914 shares of Vertiv stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.46, for a total value of $4,373,094.44. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 19,448 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,751,114.08. This trade represents a 61.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Stephen Liang sold 86,619 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were 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 $2,562,549.57. This represents a 81.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 171,527 shares of company stock valued at $23,105,682 in the last ninety days. 5.01% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertiv

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Vertiv in the fourth quarter valued at $4,219,000. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Vertiv by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 185,512 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,076,000 after acquiring an additional 13,559 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. lifted its position in Vertiv by 7.2% in the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 127,210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,656,000 after acquiring an additional 8,579 shares during the last quarter. Janney Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Vertiv in the third quarter valued at $8,403,000. Finally, Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd lifted its position in Vertiv by 112.5% in the third quarter. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd now owns 8,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $846,000 after acquiring an additional 4,500 shares during the last quarter. 89.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.