FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH Takes $991,000 Position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH acquired a new position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 8,435 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $991,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Warther Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vistra during the 1st quarter worth $13,393,000. BayBridge Capital Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vistra in the 1st quarter valued at $264,000. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vistra in the 1st quarter valued at $432,000. McBroom & Associates LLC raised its holdings in Vistra by 158.8% during the 1st quarter. McBroom & Associates LLC now owns 21,630 shares of the company's stock worth $2,540,000 after buying an additional 13,273 shares during the period. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Vistra during the 1st quarter worth about $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Vistra

In other news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.80, for a total transaction of $3,136,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 325,192 shares in the company, valued at $50,990,105.60. This represents a 5.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John R. Sult sold 25,000 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.67, for a total transaction of $4,291,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 75,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,037,649.82. The trade was a 24.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 294,000 shares of company stock valued at $47,461,490. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Vistra Stock Up 2.0%

VST stock traded up $3.56 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $177.31. The stock had a trading volume of 4,172,779 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,326,732. Vistra Corp. has a 1-year low of $66.50 and a 1-year high of $199.84. The company has a fifty day moving average of $143.01 and a 200 day moving average of $145.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.08, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.22.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be issued a $0.225 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $0.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. This is an increase from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Vistra's dividend payout ratio is currently 14.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VST has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James began coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Friday. They issued a "strong-buy" rating and a $216.00 target price for the company. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Vistra from $154.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $178.00 price objective (up from $172.00) on shares of Vistra in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Bank of America upgraded Vistra from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $164.00 to $152.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $192.00 price target on Vistra and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $172.69.

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.