Trexquant Investment LP Sells 22,625 Shares of Turning Point Brands, Inc. $TPB

Key Points

• Trexquant Investment LP has reduced its stake in Turning Point Brands by 42.8%, selling 22,625 shares, and now owns approximately 0.17% of the company, valued at $1.8 million.
• Turning Point Brands announced a quarterly dividend of $0.075 per share, with a dividend yield of 0.3%, payable on October 10th to stockholders of record by September 19th.
• Analyst ratings for Turning Point Brands show a consensus of "Buy" and a target price increase from $85. to $98 by Oppenheimer.

Trexquant Investment LP lowered its stake in Turning Point Brands, Inc. (NYSE:TPB - Free Report) by 42.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 30,292 shares of the company's stock after selling 22,625 shares during the quarter. Trexquant Investment LP owned about 0.17% of Turning Point Brands worth $1,801,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Virtus Fund Advisers LLC bought a new position in Turning Point Brands in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new position in Turning Point Brands in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $96,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in Turning Point Brands by 29.0% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,364 shares of the company's stock valued at $142,000 after buying an additional 532 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Turning Point Brands in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Finally, Prescott General Partners LLC bought a new position in Turning Point Brands in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $210,000. Institutional investors own 96.12% of the company's stock.

Turning Point Brands Stock Performance

TPB stock traded down $1.21 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $98.30. The stock had a trading volume of 135,107 shares, compared to its average volume of 335,816. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.77 billion, a PE ratio of 41.13 and a beta of 0.76. 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 simple moving average of $88.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $73.81. Turning Point Brands, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.08 and a fifty-two week high of $102.90.

Turning Point Brands (NYSE:TPB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $116.63 million during 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 for the quarter was up 25.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.68 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Turning Point Brands, Inc. will post 2.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Turning Point Brands Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Turning Point Brands

In other Turning Point Brands news, CAO Brian Wigginton sold 10,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.67, for a total value of $817,236.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Graham Purdy sold 21,400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.89, for a total transaction of $1,602,646.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 227,466 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,034,928.74. This represents a 8.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 57,200 shares of company stock worth $4,318,382 over the last quarter. 6.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

About Turning Point Brands

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.