Vest Financial LLC Grows Holdings in Turning Point Brands, Inc. $TPB

Key Points

• Vest Financial LLC boosted its holding in Turning Point Brands by 118.8% in Q4 to 31,398 shares, worth about $3.40 million (approximately 0.16% of the company).
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" with a consensus target price of $116.67, while individual broker notes range from Buy to Strong Sell.
• Insiders own 5.40% of the company and CFO Andrew Flynn sold 2,000 shares on March 4 at an average price of $97.57, a 17.48% reduction in his ownership.

Vest Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Turning Point Brands, Inc. (NYSE:TPB - Free Report) by 118.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 31,398 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 17,046 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC owned approximately 0.16% of Turning Point Brands worth $3,404,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TPB. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Turning Point Brands by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 5,297 shares of the company's stock valued at $524,000 after buying an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Turning Point Brands by 33.4% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 491 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Turning Point Brands by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,706 shares of the company's stock valued at $293,000 after buying an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Turning Point Brands by 54.9% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 457 shares of the company's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners lifted its stake in shares of Turning Point Brands by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 13,712 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,356,000 after buying an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. 96.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Transactions at Turning Point Brands

In related news, CFO Andrew Flynn sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.57, for a total value of $195,140.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 9,443 shares in the company, valued at approximately $921,353.51. The trade was a 17.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 5.40% of the company's stock.

Turning Point Brands Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:TPB opened at $77.53 on Thursday. Turning Point Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $59.46 and a 52-week high of $146.90. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $91.80 and a 200 day moving average of $101.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.50 billion, a PE ratio of 24.77 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 4.12 and a current ratio of 5.56.

Turning Point Brands Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 10th. Investors of record on Friday, March 20th were given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. This is a boost from Turning Point Brands's previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 20th. Turning Point Brands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.22%.

About Turning Point Brands

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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