Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. Purchases New Shares in Turning Point Brands, Inc. (NYSE:TPB)

Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Turning Point Brands, Inc. (NYSE:TPB - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 8,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $529,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in TPB. Northern Right Capital Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Turning Point Brands by 356.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Right Capital Management L.P. now owns 134,354 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,075,000 after purchasing an additional 104,931 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in Turning Point Brands by 36.1% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 318,552 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,145,000 after buying an additional 84,552 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Turning Point Brands by 205.8% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 97,261 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,845,000 after buying an additional 65,457 shares during the period. Portolan Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Turning Point Brands during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,817,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Turning Point Brands by 40.2% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 203,706 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,243,000 after buying an additional 58,425 shares during the period. 96.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Turning Point Brands Price Performance

Shares of TPB traded down $0.82 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $72.29. The stock had a trading volume of 186,034 shares, compared to its average volume of 169,639. The firm has a market cap of $1.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.68 and a beta of 0.69. Turning Point Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $30.61 and a 12 month high of $81.05. The business has a fifty day moving average of $62.16 and a 200 day moving average of $61.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a current ratio of 4.21.

Turning Point Brands (NYSE:TPB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $106.44 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $95.75 million. Turning Point Brands had a net margin of 11.63% and a return on equity of 33.14%. The company's revenue was up 28.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.63 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Turning Point Brands, Inc. will post 2.59 EPS for the current year.

Turning Point Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 20th will be given a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 20th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.42%. Turning Point Brands's payout ratio is currently 13.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gregory H.A. Baxter sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.64, for a total transaction of $110,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 40,419 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,976,455.16. This represents a 3.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Brian Wigginton sold 3,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.75, for a total transaction of $265,125.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 10,171 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $770,453.25. This represents a 25.60% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 6.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on TPB. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Turning Point Brands from $65.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Turning Point Brands from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $85.00 target price on shares of Turning Point Brands in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Alliance Global Partners began coverage on shares of Turning Point Brands in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. They set a "buy" rating and a $80.00 target price for the company. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $76.67.

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.