Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 40,894 Shares of Vector Group Ltd. (NYSE:VGR)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in Vector Group Ltd. (NYSE:VGR) by 5.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 755,269 shares of the company’s stock after selling 40,894 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.48% of Vector Group worth $9,675,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VGR. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Vector Group by 239.8% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,451,368 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,474,000 after acquiring an additional 1,024,249 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in Vector Group by 1,509.1% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,026,410 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,327,000 after buying an additional 962,623 shares during the period. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC bought a new stake in Vector Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $10,533,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Vector Group by 4.1% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,140,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $206,369,000 after buying an additional 673,806 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in Vector Group by 56.4% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,236,266 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,662,000 after buying an additional 445,740 shares during the period. 64.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vector Group

In other news, COO Richard Lampen purchased 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 8th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $10.32 per share, with a total value of $103,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief operating officer now directly owns 797,627 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,231,510.64. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 7.14% of the company’s stock.

Vector Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VGR opened at $10.73 on Tuesday. Vector Group Ltd. has a 1-year low of $9.86 and a 1-year high of $14.39. The company has a market capitalization of $1.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.84 and a beta of 1.12. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $10.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $11.53.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Vector Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 13th.

Vector Group Profile

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 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.