Insight Folios Inc Has $6.52 Million Stock Position in Vector Group Ltd. (NYSE:VGR)

Insight Folios Inc lowered its stake in Vector Group Ltd. (NYSE:VGR) by 9.5% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 595,242 shares of the company’s stock after selling 62,746 shares during the period. Vector Group makes up about 2.6% of Insight Folios Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Insight Folios Inc’s holdings in Vector Group were worth $6,524,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wealthstar Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vector Group by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. Wealthstar Advisors LLC now owns 50,416 shares of the company’s stock valued at $553,000 after purchasing an additional 3,500 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vector Group by 373.4% in the 1st quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 121,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,328,000 after purchasing an additional 95,600 shares during the period. Monument Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Vector Group in the 1st quarter valued at $195,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Vector Group by 27.9% in the 1st quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 130,525 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,431,000 after purchasing an additional 28,476 shares during the period. Finally, Range Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vector Group by 55.7% in the 1st quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 35,224 shares of the company’s stock valued at $386,000 after purchasing an additional 12,601 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Vector Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 6th.

Vector Group Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of VGR traded up $0.12 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $10.96. The stock had a trading volume of 485,486 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,028,546. Vector Group Ltd. has a 52 week low of $9.27 and a 52 week high of $13.43. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $10.75 and a 200 day moving average of $10.78. The company has a market cap of $1.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.45 and a beta of 1.03.

Vector Group (NYSE:VGR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by ($0.01). Vector Group had a net margin of 12.98% and a negative return on equity of 25.89%. The firm had revenue of $324.57 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $333.30 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.22 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Vector Group Ltd. will post 1.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Vector Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 5th were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.30%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 5th. Vector Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.97%.

About Vector Group

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