Blue Trust Inc. Sells 7,884 Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Blue Trust Inc. decreased its stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) by 87.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,170 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,884 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.'s holdings in Vistra were worth $161,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VST. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Vistra by 51.1% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,826,631 shares of the company's stock worth $453,609,000 after buying an additional 1,293,974 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Vistra by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,355,255 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,938,752,000 after purchasing an additional 1,037,402 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of Vistra by 36.0% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,781,908 shares of the company's stock valued at $448,320,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000,307 shares in the last quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Vistra by 60.1% in the 3rd quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 2,125,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $251,898,000 after purchasing an additional 797,894 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Castle Hook Partners LP boosted its stake in shares of Vistra by 33.5% in the 3rd quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 2,610,273 shares of the company's stock valued at $309,422,000 after purchasing an additional 654,568 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company's stock.

Vistra Trading Down 7.8 %

Shares of NYSE:VST traded down $12.67 on Friday, hitting $150.51. The company had a trading volume of 9,944,101 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,996,157. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $160.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $131.37. Vistra Corp. has a 1 year low of $46.18 and a 1 year high of $199.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.22.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a $0.2235 dividend. This represents a $0.89 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. This is a boost from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Vistra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.60%.

Vistra declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, November 7th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 2.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on VST. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $202.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Vistra from $151.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, January 27th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $206.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $171.64.

Insider Transactions at Vistra

In other news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.77, for a total value of $2,795,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 343,350 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $47,990,029.50. This trade represents a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 115,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.16, for a total transaction of $18,878,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 254,932 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $41,849,637.12. This represents a 31.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.42% of the company's stock.

About Vistra

Vistra Corp., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated retail electricity and power generation company. The company operates through six segments: Retail, Texas, East, West, Sunset, and Asset Closure. It retails electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial, and industrial customers across states in the United States and the District of Columbia.