Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. Decreases Position in Vector Group Ltd. (NYSE:VGR)

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. cut its stake in Vector Group Ltd. (NYSE:VGR) by 44.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,245 shares of the company’s stock after selling 18,591 shares during the quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Vector Group were worth $347,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in Vector Group by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 183,913 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,944,000 after acquiring an additional 935 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in Vector Group by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 357,738 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,781,000 after acquiring an additional 1,020 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in Vector Group by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 39,729 shares of the company’s stock valued at $420,000 after acquiring an additional 1,160 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Vector Group by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,157 shares of the company’s stock valued at $171,000 after acquiring an additional 1,238 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Vector Group by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 44,984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $475,000 after acquiring an additional 1,346 shares during the last quarter. 64.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vector Group Stock Performance

NYSE:VGR opened at $14.99 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $14.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $13.03. Vector Group Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $9.27 and a fifty-two week high of $15.53.

Vector Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.34%. Vector Group’s payout ratio is currently 68.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VGR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Vector Group from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Vector Group in a report on Monday, November 11th. They set a “strong-buy” rating for the company.

Vector Group 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.