Vertiv Holdings Co. $VRT Holdings Reduced by Locust Wood Capital Advisers LLC

Locust Wood Capital Advisers LLC decreased its position in Vertiv Holdings Co. (NYSE:VRT) by 15.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,120,137 shares of the company’s stock after selling 204,481 shares during the period. Vertiv comprises 4.2% of Locust Wood Capital Advisers LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Locust Wood Capital Advisers LLC owned approximately 0.29% of Vertiv worth $168,984,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Vertiv in the second quarter valued at about $538,132,000. Winslow Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Vertiv in the second quarter valued at $459,284,000. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Vertiv by 100.1% in the second quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,246,769 shares of the company’s stock worth $415,132,000 after acquiring an additional 1,624,456 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Vertiv by 102.7% in the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 26,837 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,446,000 after purchasing an additional 1,026,837 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Vertiv by 20.9% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,931,488 shares of the company’s stock valued at $761,662,000 after purchasing an additional 1,024,634 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.92% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertiv

In other news, EVP Stephen Liang sold 5,501 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.48, for a total value of $937,810.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 4,050 shares in the company, valued at approximately $690,444. This represents a 57.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on VRT. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Vertiv from $182.00 to $204.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Vertiv from $165.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Vertiv from $230.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $216.00 price target on shares of Vertiv and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Vertiv from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $187.89.

Vertiv Stock Up 3.6%

Shares of Vertiv stock opened at $181.49 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $170.15 and its 200-day moving average is $156.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.39 billion, a PE ratio of 68.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 2.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. Vertiv Holdings Co. has a 12-month low of $53.60 and a 12-month high of $202.45.

Vertiv (NYSE:VRT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.25. Vertiv had a return on equity of 50.82% and a net margin of 10.67%.The company had revenue of $2.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.76 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 29.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Vertiv Holdings Co. will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Vertiv Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 25th were issued a dividend of $0.0625 per share. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.1%. This is a boost from Vertiv’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.04. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 25th. Vertiv’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.43%.

About Vertiv

Vertiv is a global provider of critical digital infrastructure and continuity solutions for data centers, communication networks and commercial and industrial environments. Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, the company designs, manufactures and services equipment and software that support power availability, thermal management and IT infrastructure management for a broad set of end markets, including hyperscale and enterprise data centers, colocation providers, telecom operators and industrial customers.

The company’s product portfolio includes uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), power distribution units (PDUs), battery and DC power systems, precision cooling and thermal management equipment, racks and enclosures, and integrated modular infrastructure.