Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. Purchases 83,757 Shares of Vector Group Ltd. (NYSE:VGR)

Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Vector Group Ltd. (NYSE:VGR – Get Rating) by 205.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 124,501 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 83,757 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. owned about 0.08% of Vector Group worth $1,097,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its position in Vector Group by 195.7% during the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 2,898 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,918 shares in the last quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Vector Group during the second quarter valued at about $54,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in Vector Group during the second quarter valued at about $90,000. Macquarie Group Ltd. boosted its position in Vector Group by 45.7% during the second quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 10,098 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,000 after purchasing an additional 3,165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantedge Capital Pte Ltd bought a new stake in Vector Group during the first quarter valued at about $123,000. Institutional investors own 62.65% of the company’s stock.

Vector Group Stock Performance

Vector Group stock opened at $12.43 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $11.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $10.56. Vector Group Ltd. has a one year low of $8.64 and a one year high of $13.38. The stock has a market cap of $1.92 billion, a PE ratio of 12.43 and a beta of 1.02.

Vector Group (NYSE:VGR – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 1st. The company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by ($0.02). Vector Group had a net margin of 11.21% and a negative return on equity of 17.48%. The business had revenue of $378.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $309.10 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Vector Group Ltd. will post 0.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vector Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 9th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.44%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 8th. Vector Group’s payout ratio is 80.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Vector Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 13th.

Insider Transactions at Vector Group

In other news, Director Bennett S. Lebow sold 170,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.37, for a total value of $1,762,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 957,278 shares in the company, valued at $9,926,972.86. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Bennett S. Lebow sold 170,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.37, for a total value of $1,762,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 957,278 shares in the company, valued at $9,926,972.86. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Bennett S. Lebow sold 66,347 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.73, for a total value of $711,903.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 60,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $651,064.21. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 426,347 shares of company stock worth $4,616,753 over the last three months. 7.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Vector Group Company Profile

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Vector Group Ltd., through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells cigarettes in the United States. It operates in two segments, Tobacco and Real Estate. The company produces cigarettes in 100 combinations under the EAGLE 20's, Pyramid, Montego, Grand Prix, Liggett Select, Eve, and USA brand names, as well as various partner and private label brands.