Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Has $805,000 Holdings in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lessened its stake in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) by 73.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,794 shares of the company's stock after selling 18,526 shares during the quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's holdings in Vistra were worth $805,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC acquired a new position in Vistra in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Vistra in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. CVA Family Office LLC grew its stake in shares of Vistra by 1,505.9% in the third quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 273 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Vistra during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in Vistra during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on VST shares. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Vistra from $157.00 to $150.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Vistra in a research note on Monday, October 14th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $231.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Vistra in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $178.00 target price for the company. Finally, Guggenheim increased their target price on Vistra from $133.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $149.10.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.77, for a total transaction of $2,795,400.00. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 115,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.16, for a total value of $18,878,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 254,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,849,637.12. This trade represents a 31.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 342,100 shares of company stock worth $55,087,314 in the last three months. 1.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Vistra Price Performance

Shares of VST stock traded down $0.20 on Thursday, hitting $145.80. 2,536,315 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,787,822. The company has a 50 day moving average of $139.21 and a 200 day moving average of $105.57. The stock has a market cap of $49.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Vistra Corp. has a 12 month low of $37.31 and a 12 month high of $168.67.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.221 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 20th. This is a positive change from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.61%. Vistra's payout ratio is 16.42%.

Vistra announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, November 7th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 2.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.