AQR Capital Management LLC Sells 23,674 Shares of Turning Point Brands, Inc. $TPB

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC sold 23,674 shares of Turning Point Brands, reducing its holdings by 22.2%, now owning 82,804 shares valued at approximately $4.92 million.
• Turning Point Brands has received positive analyst ratings, with Zacks Research upgrading it to a "strong-buy" and Oppenheimer increasing its price target from $85.00 to $98.00.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.075 per share, scheduled for payment on October 10th, with a current dividend yield of 0.3%.

AQR Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Turning Point Brands, Inc. (NYSE:TPB - Free Report) by 22.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 82,804 shares of the company's stock after selling 23,674 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 0.46% of Turning Point Brands worth $4,922,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Virtus Fund Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Turning Point Brands during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Turning Point Brands during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $96,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Turning Point Brands during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $201,000. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of Turning Point Brands by 97,250.0% during the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,894 shares of the company's stock valued at $231,000 after acquiring an additional 3,890 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Turning Point Brands during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $290,000. Institutional investors own 96.12% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on TPB shares. Zacks Research raised shares of Turning Point Brands from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Turning Point Brands from $85.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Needham & Company LLC started coverage on shares of Turning Point Brands in a research report on Friday, August 1st. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Turning Point Brands from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Turning Point Brands currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $78.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at Turning Point Brands

In other news, CAO Brian Wigginton sold 10,800 shares of Turning Point Brands stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.67, for a total transaction of $817,236.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 10,171 shares in the company, valued at $769,639.57. This trade represents a 51.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lawrence Wexler sold 25,000 shares of Turning Point Brands stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.94, for a total transaction of $1,898,500.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 330,186 shares in the company, valued at $25,074,324.84. This represents a 7.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 6.60% of the company's stock.

Turning Point Brands Trading Up 1.7%

NYSE:TPB opened at $102.39 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $89.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $74.27. The company has a market cap of $1.85 billion, a PE ratio of 42.84 and a beta of 0.76. Turning Point Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $38.50 and a 12 month high of $102.90. The company has a current ratio of 4.22, a quick ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30.

Turning Point Brands (NYSE:TPB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $116.63 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $107.30 million. Turning Point Brands had a net margin of 10.34% and a return on equity of 25.32%. The company's revenue was up 25.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.68 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Turning Point Brands, Inc. will post 2.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Turning Point Brands Announces Dividend

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

Turning Point Brands 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.

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