Teacher Retirement System of Texas Purchases 67,005 Shares of Turning Point Brands, Inc. (NYSE:TPB)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its position in shares of Turning Point Brands, Inc. (NYSE:TPB - Free Report) by 122.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 121,804 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 67,005 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned 0.69% of Turning Point Brands worth $7,240,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Turning Point Brands during the fourth quarter worth $957,000. ProShare Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Turning Point Brands during the fourth quarter worth $290,000. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in Turning Point Brands by 1.9% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 24,531 shares of the company's stock worth $1,458,000 after acquiring an additional 464 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Turning Point Brands by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 160,386 shares of the company's stock worth $9,639,000 after acquiring an additional 11,808 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Turning Point Brands by 14,100.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 10,224 shares of the company's stock worth $608,000 after acquiring an additional 10,152 shares in the last quarter. 96.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Turning Point Brands

In related news, CEO Graham Purdy sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.03, for a total transaction of $2,250,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 227,466 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,066,773.98. This trade represents a 11.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Brian Wigginton sold 10,800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.67, for a total transaction of $817,236.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 115,300 shares of company stock valued at $8,666,867 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 6.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Turning Point Brands from $65.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Turning Point Brands from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Turning Point Brands currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $76.67.

Turning Point Brands Stock Performance

Shares of TPB traded up $1.29 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $72.66. The company had a trading volume of 279,904 shares, compared to its average volume of 193,702. The firm has a market cap of $1.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.87 and a beta of 0.75. The business has a fifty day moving average of $73.19 and a 200-day moving average of $64.98. Turning Point Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $34.69 and a 12 month high of $81.25. The company has a quick ratio of 2.64, a current ratio of 4.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44.

Turning Point Brands (NYSE:TPB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $106.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $95.75 million. Turning Point Brands had a net margin of 10.19% and a return on equity of 27.70%. The company's revenue was up 28.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.63 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Turning Point Brands, Inc. will post 2.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Turning Point Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 20th were given a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 20th. Turning Point Brands's dividend payout ratio is 13.16%.

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.