Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Acquires Shares of 1,890 Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 1,890 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $222,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of VST. Huntington National Bank grew its holdings in Vistra by 16.6% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,347 shares of the company's stock valued at $186,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors grew its holdings in Vistra by 24.9% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 3,695 shares of the company's stock valued at $509,000 after purchasing an additional 737 shares during the period. Pitcairn Co. bought a new position in Vistra during the fourth quarter valued at $202,000. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Vistra during the fourth quarter valued at $13,708,000. Finally, Wedbush Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Vistra by 19.7% during the fourth quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 8,754 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,207,000 after purchasing an additional 1,442 shares during the period. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.75, for a total value of $8,637,500.00. Following the sale, the director owned 255,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,084,418. This trade represents a 16.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 56,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.00, for a total value of $8,792,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 306,600 shares in the company, valued at $48,136,200. This trade represents a 15.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 294,000 shares of company stock valued at $47,461,490 in the last ninety days. 1.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Vistra Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of VST stock opened at $208.06 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.53, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.86. Vistra Corp. has a 52-week low of $66.50 and a 52-week high of $213.05. The company has a market capitalization of $70.60 billion, a PE ratio of 32.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.30. The business's fifty day moving average is $184.27 and its 200 day moving average is $155.02.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 19th will be given a $0.226 dividend. This represents a $0.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. This is a boost from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 19th. Vistra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on VST shares. UBS Group increased their price objective on Vistra from $207.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Vistra from $178.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Vistra in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They set a "strong-buy" rating and a $216.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Vistra from $134.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $192.00 target price on Vistra and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vistra presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $178.69.

Vistra Company Profile

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.

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