Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Has $5.48 Million Stock Holdings in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Key Points

• Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in Vistra Corp. by 9.4%, now owning 46,618 shares valued at approximately $5.48 million.
• Recent insider transactions included EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore selling 35,000 shares and Director Scott B. Helm selling 50,000 shares, resulting in ownership decreases of 28.44% and 16.38%, respectively.
• Vistra recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.225 per share, reflecting a positive change from the previous dividend of $0.22.

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) by 9.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 46,618 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,855 shares during the quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC's holdings in Vistra were worth $5,475,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of VST. HM Payson & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 275.4% during the 1st quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 229 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Tucker Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra during the 1st quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 2,540.0% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 396 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 381 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Vistra

In other news, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 35,000 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.44, for a total value of $5,650,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 88,073 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,218,505.12. This trade represents a 28.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Scott B. Helm sold 50,000 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 255,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $44,084,418. This trade represents a 16.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 294,000 shares of company stock worth $47,461,490. Corporate insiders own 1.42% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on VST. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Vistra from $134.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Raymond James Financial began coverage on Vistra in a report on Friday, June 13th. They set a "strong-buy" rating and a $216.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group raised their price objective on Vistra from $160.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Vistra from $178.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Vistra from $203.00 to $186.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 28th. 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $176.92.

Vistra Stock Performance

VST stock opened at $196.27 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $178.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $153.69. Vistra Corp. has a 1-year low of $66.50 and a 1-year high of $207.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.53. The firm has a market cap of $66.60 billion, a PE ratio of 30.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.26.

Vistra Increases Dividend

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

Vistra 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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