Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Reduces Holdings in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Key Points

• Mediolanum International Funds Ltd reduced its stake in Vistra Corp. by 31.3%, holding $1.84 million worth of shares after selling 7,052 shares during the first quarter.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Vistra Corp., with UBS Group increasing it from $207.00 to $230.00 and ten analysts assigning a buy rating.
• Vistra recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.225 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 0.45% and a payout ratio of 14.15%.

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd lowered its position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) by 31.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,462 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,052 shares during the quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd's holdings in Vistra were worth $1,841,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HM Payson & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Vistra by 275.4% in 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 during the period. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new position in Vistra during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Vistra in the first quarter valued at $46,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Vistra by 2,540.0% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 396 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares during the period. Finally, Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA raised its holdings in shares of Vistra by 53.9% in the first quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA now owns 431 shares of the company's stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company's stock.

Vistra Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VST traded up $0.16 during trading on Friday, hitting $208.70. 3,380,035 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,344,597. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.53, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.77. Vistra Corp. has a 1 year low of $66.50 and a 1 year high of $213.05. The company has a market cap of $70.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.89, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.26. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $183.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $154.98.

Vistra Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Activity at Vistra

In other news, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 35,000 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 88,073 shares in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John R. Sult sold 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.67, for a total value of $4,291,750.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 75,946 shares in the company, valued at $13,037,649.82. This trade represents a 24.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 294,000 shares of company stock valued at $47,461,490 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.42% of the company's stock.

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.