4,966 Shares in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) Acquired by Merit Financial Group LLC

Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 4,966 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $583,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Vistra by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,539,243 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,174,326,000 after purchasing an additional 219,055 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Vistra by 63.6% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,260,363 shares of the company's stock worth $863,116,000 after acquiring an additional 2,433,732 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Vistra by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,026,484 shares of the company's stock valued at $417,261,000 after acquiring an additional 296,714 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Vistra during the fourth quarter worth about $409,087,000. Finally, Castle Hook Partners LP boosted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 13.6% in the 4th quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 2,964,222 shares of the company's stock worth $408,677,000 after purchasing an additional 353,949 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on VST shares. Raymond James assumed coverage on Vistra in a report on Friday. They set a "strong-buy" rating and a $216.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI set a $192.00 price objective on Vistra and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Vistra from $203.00 to $186.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 28th. Daiwa Capital Markets initiated coverage on Vistra in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $120.00 price target on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Vistra from $134.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Three investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $172.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 56,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.00, for a total transaction of $8,792,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 306,600 shares of the company's stock, valued at $48,136,200. This represents a 15.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.80, for a total transaction of $3,136,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 294,000 shares of company stock worth $47,461,490. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Vistra Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of VST traded down $0.19 on Friday, reaching $173.68. The stock had a trading volume of 3,956,609 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,324,950. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $143.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $145.38. Vistra Corp. has a 12-month low of $66.50 and a 12-month high of $199.84.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be paid a $0.225 dividend. This represents a $0.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. This is a positive change from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 18th. Vistra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.15%.

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.