Principal Financial Group Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Vector Group Ltd. (NYSE:VGR)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its position in Vector Group Ltd. (NYSE:VGR) by 3.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 639,354 shares of the company’s stock after selling 22,775 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.41% of Vector Group worth $9,539,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vector Group in the first quarter worth about $175,000. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in shares of Vector Group by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 47,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $516,000 after acquiring an additional 4,043 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vector Group by 7.5% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 29,033 shares of the company’s stock valued at $318,000 after purchasing an additional 2,020 shares during the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its stake in Vector Group by 37.6% during the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 57,123 shares of the company’s stock valued at $686,000 after buying an additional 15,610 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Vector Group by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,868,987 shares of the company’s stock worth $195,844,000 after purchasing an additional 283,371 shares in the last quarter. 64.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on VGR. Barclays upped their price objective on Vector Group from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Vector Group in a report on Tuesday. They issued a “strong-buy” rating on the stock.

Vector Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VGR opened at $14.99 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 1.04. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $14.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $13.07. Vector Group Ltd. has a 1-year low of $9.27 and a 1-year high of $15.53.

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.