American Century Companies Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Turning Point Brands, Inc. $TPB

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. has reduced its stake in Turning Point Brands, Inc. by 3.1%, owning 603,483 shares valued at approximately $35.87 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Analysts have varying ratings on Turning Point Brands, with Oppenheimer increasing their price target to $98, while Zacks upgraded the stock to a strong-buy rating, reflecting overall positive sentiment.
• The company recently reported a better-than-expected earnings per share of $0.98 and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.075 per share, contributing to a 0.3% annualized yield for investors.

American Century Companies Inc. lessened its holdings in Turning Point Brands, Inc. (NYSE:TPB - Free Report) by 3.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 603,483 shares of the company's stock after selling 19,276 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned 3.37% of Turning Point Brands worth $35,871,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of TPB. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in Turning Point Brands by 4.1% in the first quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 5,083 shares of the company's stock valued at $302,000 after buying an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in Turning Point Brands by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 9,739 shares of the company's stock valued at $585,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in Turning Point Brands by 1.9% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 24,531 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,458,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in shares of Turning Point Brands by 29.0% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,364 shares of the company's stock worth $142,000 after acquiring an additional 532 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its position in Turning Point Brands by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 10,373 shares of the company's stock valued at $623,000 after purchasing an additional 587 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.12% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Turning Point Brands from $85.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Turning Point Brands from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Needham & Company LLC started coverage on shares of Turning Point Brands in a research report on Friday, August 1st. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Turning Point Brands from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $78.83.

Turning Point Brands Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:TPB traded up $0.34 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $97.51. 149,823 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 271,831. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 4.22 and a quick ratio of 2.67. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $82.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $71.38. The company has a market cap of $1.76 billion, a PE ratio of 40.77 and a beta of 0.66. Turning Point Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $38.08 and a 12 month high of $102.90.

Turning Point Brands (NYSE:TPB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $116.63 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $107.30 million. Turning Point Brands had a net margin of 10.34% and a return on equity of 25.32%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 25.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.68 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Turning Point Brands, Inc. will post 2.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Turning Point Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 19th will be issued a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 19th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Turning Point Brands's dividend payout ratio is currently 12.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Brian Wigginton sold 10,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.67, for a total transaction of $817,236.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 10,171 shares in the company, valued at approximately $769,639.57. This represents a 51.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Graham Purdy sold 21,400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.89, for a total transaction of $1,602,646.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 227,466 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,034,928.74. This trade represents a 8.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 110,300 shares of company stock valued at $8,291,282 over the last 90 days. 6.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Turning Point Brands Company Profile

Turning Point Brands, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, markets, and distributes branded consumer products. The company operates through three segments: Zig-Zag Products, Stoker's Products, and Creative Distribution Solutions. Zig-Zag Products segment markets and distributes rolling papers, tubes, finished cigars, make-your-own cigar wraps, and related products, as well as lighters and other accessories under the Zig-Zag brand.