American Century Companies Inc. Trims Holdings in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

American Century Companies Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 11.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,307,974 shares of the company’s stock after selling 171,339 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.38% of Vistra worth $180,330,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Vistra by 56.5% during the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 180 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its stake in Vistra by 616.0% during the fourth quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 179 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Founders Capital Management bought a new position in Vistra during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. West Branch Capital LLC bought a new position in Vistra during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new position in Vistra during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VST has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Bank of America upgraded Vistra from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $164.00 to $152.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Evercore ISI began coverage on Vistra in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $202.00 target price on the stock. Daiwa America upgraded Vistra to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Vistra from $151.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $162.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Paul M. Barbas sold 24,136 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.19, for a total value of $2,997,449.84. Following the transaction, the director now owns 51,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,341,513.97. This trade represents a 32.10 % 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 William Pitesa purchased 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $126.75 per share, for a total transaction of $190,125.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,467 shares in the company, valued at $439,442.25. This represents a 76.26 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Vistra Price Performance

Shares of VST opened at $130.75 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $151.74 and its 200-day moving average is $138.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.21. Vistra Corp. has a one year low of $64.26 and a one year high of $199.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.2235 per share. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.89 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. Vistra’s payout ratio is presently 12.62%.

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.