Victory Capital Management Inc. Buys 846,808 Shares of Vector Group Ltd. (NYSE:VGR)

Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Vector Group Ltd. (NYSE:VGR – Get Rating) by 200.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,268,620 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 846,808 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Vector Group were worth $16,137,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VGR. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new stake in Vector Group in the fourth quarter valued at $3,673,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vector Group by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 97,835 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,123,000 after purchasing an additional 5,603 shares during the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D bought a new stake in shares of Vector Group during the fourth quarter worth $1,966,000. Yousif Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vector Group during the fourth quarter worth $1,172,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Vector Group by 757.0% during the fourth quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 164,510 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,889,000 after purchasing an additional 145,313 shares during the last quarter. 62.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vector Group

In other Vector Group news, Director Ronald J. Bernstein sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.55, for a total value of $115,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 62,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $723,376.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Vector Group Stock Down 5.6 %

Shares of VGR opened at $10.53 on Friday. Vector Group Ltd. has a 12-month low of $9.78 and a 12-month high of $17.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.63 billion, a PE ratio of 7.36 and a beta of 1.02. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $10.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.41.

Vector Group (NYSE:VGR – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 10th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.25 by ($0.08). Vector Group had a net margin of 10.96% and a negative return on equity of 30.49%. The firm had revenue of $312.04 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $285.70 million. Analysts anticipate that Vector Group Ltd. will post 1.13 EPS for the current year.

Vector Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 17th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 16th. Vector Group’s payout ratio is 55.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Vector Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 12th. Barclays decreased their target price on Vector Group from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 17th.

Vector Group Profile

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Vector Group Ltd., through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells cigarettes in the United States. It operates in two segments, Tobacco and Real Estate. The company produces cigarettes in 100 combinations under the EAGLE 20's, Pyramid, Montego, Grand Prix, Liggett Select, Eve, and USA brand names, as well as various partner and private label brands.

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