Nuveen Asset Management LLC Sells 81,874 Shares of Vector Group Ltd. (NYSE:VGR)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Vector Group Ltd. (NYSE:VGR – Get Rating) by 8.5% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 880,098 shares of the company’s stock after selling 81,874 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Vector Group were worth $7,754,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Vector Group by 0.3% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 20,541,144 shares of the company’s stock worth $247,315,000 after buying an additional 53,012 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Vector Group by 4.1% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,140,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $206,369,000 after buying an additional 673,806 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vector Group by 4.5% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 8,731,963 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,686,000 after buying an additional 376,700 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Vector Group by 3.1% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,381,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,001,000 after buying an additional 131,035 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Vector Group by 1.1% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,925,954 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,778,000 after buying an additional 31,635 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.65% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Vector Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 16th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ronald J. Bernstein sold 4,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.15, for a total value of $65,090.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 33,030 shares in the company, valued at $467,374.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Ronald J. Bernstein sold 4,600 shares of Vector Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.15, for a total value of $65,090.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 33,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $467,374.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Bennett S. Lebow sold 175,000 shares of Vector Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.32, for a total value of $1,981,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 789,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,940,286.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Vector Group Price Performance

Shares of VGR opened at $12.00 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $12.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.17. The company has a market capitalization of $1.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.88 and a beta of 1.04. Vector Group Ltd. has a 1-year low of $8.64 and a 1-year high of $14.39.

Vector Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 16th. Vector Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.21%.

Vector Group Profile

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Vector Group Ltd. is a holding company, which engages in the distribution of tobacco products. It operates through the following segments: Tobacco, Real Estate, and Corporate and Other. The Tobacco segment consists of the manufacturing and sale of cigarettes. The Real Estate segment includes the acquisition and investments in real estate properties and projects.