Mackenzie Financial Corp Purchases 2,873 Shares of Vector Group Ltd. (NYSE:VGR)

Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Vector Group Ltd. (NYSE:VGR) by 15.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 21,267 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,873 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp’s holdings in Vector Group were worth $225,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VGR. Optimist Retirement Group LLC bought a new position in Vector Group during the 4th quarter worth $949,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Vector Group by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,585,616 shares of the company’s stock worth $198,366,000 after purchasing an additional 74,550 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in Vector Group by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 36,093 shares of the company’s stock worth $407,000 after buying an additional 2,297 shares in the last quarter. Royal Fund Management LLC increased its holdings in Vector Group by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Royal Fund Management LLC now owns 73,002 shares of the company’s stock valued at $800,000 after buying an additional 4,701 shares during the period. Finally, Range Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Vector Group by 55.7% in the 1st quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 35,224 shares of the company’s stock valued at $386,000 after buying an additional 12,601 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.09% of the company’s stock.

Vector Group Stock Performance

Shares of VGR opened at $14.99 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $14.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.09. Vector Group Ltd. has a 12 month low of $9.27 and a 12 month high of $15.53. The company has a market capitalization of $2.36 billion, a PE ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 1.04.

Vector Group (NYSE:VGR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.04. Vector Group had a net margin of 14.05% and a negative return on equity of 26.96%. The business had revenue of $371.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $362.90 million. Equities research analysts predict that Vector Group Ltd. will post 1.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vector Group Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on VGR. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Vector Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on Vector Group from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th.

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.