Royal Fund Management LLC Acquires 3,107 Shares of Vector Group Ltd. (NYSE:VGR)

Royal Fund Management LLC raised its holdings in Vector Group Ltd. (NYSE:VGR) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 68,301 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,107 shares during the quarter. Royal Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Vector Group were worth $770,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. boosted its position in shares of Vector Group by 33.2% during the fourth quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. now owns 164,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,850,000 after purchasing an additional 40,900 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Vector Group by 70.1% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 90,773 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,024,000 after purchasing an additional 37,408 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Vector Group during the fourth quarter worth $748,000. Financial Counselors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vector Group during the fourth quarter worth $138,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Vector Group by 1,028.0% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 18,849 shares of the company’s stock worth $213,000 after purchasing an additional 17,178 shares in the last quarter. 64.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Vector Group Stock Up 4.7 %

Shares of NYSE:VGR traded up $0.44 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $9.81. 1,773,513 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,032,242. Vector Group Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $9.27 and a fifty-two week high of $13.43. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $10.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $10.76. The firm has a market cap of $1.54 billion, a PE ratio of 8.46 and a beta of 1.06.

Vector Group (NYSE:VGR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by ($0.01). Vector Group had a negative return on equity of 25.62% and a net margin of 12.98%. The company had revenue of $324.57 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $333.30 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.22 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Vector Group Ltd. will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Vector Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 4th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.15%. Vector Group’s payout ratio 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.