Boston Partners Has $19.53 Million Holdings in Vector Group Ltd. (NYSE:VGR)

Boston Partners decreased its stake in Vector Group Ltd. (NYSE:VGR) by 3.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,800,499 shares of the company’s stock after selling 65,883 shares during the period. Boston Partners owned 1.14% of Vector Group worth $19,527,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Optimist Retirement Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Vector Group in the fourth quarter valued at $949,000. Duality Advisers LP bought a new position in Vector Group during the first quarter worth about $900,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Vector Group by 6.4% in the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,181,224 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,946,000 after purchasing an additional 70,685 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Vector Group by 27.9% in the first quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 130,525 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,431,000 after acquiring an additional 28,476 shares during the period. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP increased its position in shares of Vector Group by 113.7% during the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 25,548 shares of the company’s stock valued at $288,000 after buying an additional 13,595 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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, July 25th.

Vector Group Stock Performance

VGR stock traded up $0.10 during trading on Friday, hitting $13.40. 1,255,843 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,200,154. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.11 billion, a PE ratio of 11.55 and a beta of 1.03. Vector Group Ltd. has a 1 year low of $9.27 and a 1 year high of $13.71. The company has a 50-day moving average of $11.25 and a 200-day moving average of $10.87.

Vector Group (NYSE:VGR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.25 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $324.57 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $333.30 million. Vector Group had a negative return on equity of 26.62% and a net margin of 14.05%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.22 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Vector Group Ltd. will post 1.16 EPS for the current year.

Vector Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 5th were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 5th. Vector Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.97%.

Vector Group Company Profile

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.