Brown Advisory Inc. Buys 6,908 Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Brown Advisory Inc. raised its stake in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) by 7.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 98,355 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,908 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc.'s holdings in Vistra were worth $11,551,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,281,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Vistra by 41.2% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 30,057 shares of the company's stock worth $4,144,000 after acquiring an additional 8,766 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in Vistra by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 71,665 shares of the company's stock worth $9,880,000 after purchasing an additional 5,986 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new stake in Vistra in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $229,000. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its position in shares of Vistra by 26.1% during the 4th quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 2,516 shares of the company's stock worth $347,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares during the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Vistra from $203.00 to $186.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 28th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Vistra from $160.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Vistra from $134.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Evercore ISI set a $192.00 target price on shares of Vistra and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Vistra from $178.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vistra currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $176.92.

Vistra Price Performance

Shares of VST traded up $0.70 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $196.48. 3,712,766 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,167,814. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.53, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The company has a market capitalization of $66.67 billion, a PE ratio of 25.26, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.26. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $169.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $150.57. Vistra Corp. has a one year low of $66.50 and a one year high of $200.25.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were issued a $0.225 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $0.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. This is a positive change from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Vistra's dividend payout ratio is presently 14.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vistra news, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 35,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.44, for a total transaction of $5,650,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 88,073 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,218,505.12. The trade was a 28.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 56,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.00, for a total value of $8,792,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 306,600 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $48,136,200. The trade was a 15.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 294,000 shares of company stock valued at $47,461,490. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.