Turning Point Brands, Inc. $TPB Shares Sold by Teacher Retirement System of Texas

Key Points

• Teacher Retirement System of Texas cut its position in Turning Point Brands by 40.2%, selling 32,686 shares and reducing its holding to 48,675 shares valued at about $5.28 million (≈0.26% of the company).
• CFO Andrew Flynn sold 2,000 shares on March 4 at $97.57, a 17.48% reduction in his stake, leaving him with 9,443 shares; corporate insiders now own 5.40% of the stock.
• Wall Street sentiment is mixed — the consensus rating is a Hold with a $116.67 price target, after several downgrades (including Zacks to "strong sell" and Weiss cut) while Oppenheimer remains more bullish with an outperform rating and $130 target.

Teacher Retirement System of Texas lowered its position in shares of Turning Point Brands, Inc. (NYSE:TPB - Free Report) by 40.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 48,675 shares of the company's stock after selling 32,686 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned about 0.26% of Turning Point Brands worth $5,276,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. First Horizon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Turning Point Brands during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Turning Point Brands during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new position in Turning Point Brands in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Huntington National Bank increased its position in Turning Point Brands by 54.9% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 457 shares of the company's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Turning Point Brands by 33.4% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 491 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.12% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Turning Point Brands news, CFO Andrew Flynn sold 2,000 shares of Turning Point Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.57, for a total value of $195,140.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 9,443 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $921,353.51. The trade was a 17.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 5.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on TPB. Weiss Ratings cut Turning Point Brands from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Zacks Research cut Turning Point Brands from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of Turning Point Brands in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Turning Point Brands from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, January 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $116.67.

Turning Point Brands Stock Performance

Shares of TPB stock opened at $78.14 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.51 billion, a PE ratio of 24.96 and a beta of 1.02. Turning Point Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $58.04 and a 52-week high of $146.90. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $95.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $101.87. The company has a quick ratio of 4.12, a current ratio of 5.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Turning Point Brands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 20th were issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 20th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. This is a boost from Turning Point Brands's previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. Turning Point Brands's dividend payout ratio is presently 10.22%.

Turning Point Brands Profile

Turning Point Brands, Inc NYSE: TPB is a U.S.-based consumer products company focused on the manufacture, marketing and distribution of smokeless tobacco, vaping and cigar products. Headquartered in Old Hickory, Tennessee, the company serves retail outlets across all 50 states through a direct-store-delivery network and select third-party distributors. Turning Point Brands operates two reporting segments—Smokeless Products and Cigar—and leverages its logistics capabilities to offer a broad portfolio of brands and SKUs.

In its Smokeless Products segment, Turning Point Brands produces moist smokeless tobacco under leading brand names such as Grizzly, Kodiak and Stoker's.

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