Vertiv (NYSE:VRT) Shares Down 6.2% – Time to Sell?

Vertiv Holdings Co. (NYSE:VRT) shares were down 6.2% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $158.77 and last traded at $160.9630. Approximately 7,659,871 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 13% from the average daily volume of 6,774,930 shares. The stock had previously closed at $171.54.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on VRT shares. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Vertiv from $165.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Vertiv from $198.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Vertiv from $173.00 to $201.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Barclays upgraded shares of Vertiv from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $181.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Vertiv from $191.00 to $196.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.38.

Vertiv Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 2.06. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $172.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $152.76.

Vertiv (NYSE:VRT) last released its quarterly 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.76 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Vertiv has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.230-1.290 EPS and its FY 2025 guidance at 4.070-4.130 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Vertiv Holdings Co. will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Vertiv Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 25th were paid a $0.0625 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 25th. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. This is a boost from Vertiv’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.04. Vertiv’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.43%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Stephen Liang sold 5,501 shares of Vertiv stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.48, for a total transaction of $937,810.48. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 4,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $690,444. The trade was a 57.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 2.63% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRT. Financial Management Professionals Inc. increased its stake in Vertiv by 1,560.0% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 166 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Vertiv by 67.6% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 171 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in shares of Vertiv by 54.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertiv in the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertiv during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.92% of the company’s stock.

Vertiv Company Profile

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.