Masso Torrence Wealth Management Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Vector Group Ltd. (NYSE:VGR)

Masso Torrence Wealth Management Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Vector Group Ltd. (NYSE:VGR) by 5.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 37,590 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,982 shares during the quarter. Masso Torrence Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Vector Group were worth $424,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in Vector Group by 95.7% during the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 534,358 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,686,000 after buying an additional 261,358 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Vector Group by 24.2% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,249,177 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,291,000 after acquiring an additional 243,214 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Vector Group by 14.0% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 822,119 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,747,000 after acquiring an additional 101,171 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Vector Group by 21.4% in the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 61,222 shares of the company’s stock worth $636,000 after purchasing an additional 10,790 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC raised its holdings in Vector Group by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 438,528 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,666,000 after purchasing an additional 56,538 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on VGR. TheStreet lowered Vector Group from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, December 28th. StockNews.com upgraded Vector Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 26th.

Vector Group Trading Up 0.3 %

Vector Group stock traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $10.47. The stock had a trading volume of 478,392 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,025,890. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $10.76 and its 200 day moving average is $10.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.00 and a beta of 1.02. Vector Group Ltd. has a one year low of $9.80 and a one year high of $13.43.

Vector Group (NYSE:VGR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.10. Vector Group had a net margin of 12.89% and a negative return on equity of 24.93%. The business had revenue of $360.35 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $357.60 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Vector Group Ltd. will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Vector Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 4th were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.64%. Vector Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.