Marathon Partners Equity Management LLC Takes Position in Turning Point Brands, Inc. (NYSE:TPB)

Marathon Partners Equity Management LLC purchased a new stake in Turning Point Brands, Inc. (NYSE:TPB - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 25,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,502,000. Turning Point Brands accounts for 1.3% of Marathon Partners Equity Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Marathon Partners Equity Management LLC owned 0.14% of Turning Point Brands as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in TPB. Barclays PLC increased its position in Turning Point Brands by 298.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 29,274 shares of the company's stock worth $1,262,000 after buying an additional 21,930 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Turning Point Brands by 84.5% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 123,079 shares of the company's stock worth $5,311,000 after buying an additional 56,364 shares during the period. USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in Turning Point Brands during the 4th quarter worth $73,000. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Turning Point Brands by 22.8% during the 4th quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 26,757 shares of the company's stock worth $1,608,000 after buying an additional 4,967 shares during the period. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP bought a new position in Turning Point Brands during the 4th quarter worth $234,000. Institutional investors own 96.12% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on TPB shares. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $85.00 target price on Turning Point Brands in a report on Thursday, March 6th. StockNews.com raised Turning Point Brands from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Turning Point Brands from $65.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Alliance Global Partners started coverage on Turning Point Brands in a report on Monday, March 3rd. They set a "buy" rating and a $80.00 target price on the stock. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Turning Point Brands presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $76.67.

Turning Point Brands Price Performance

NYSE:TPB traded up $1.47 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $73.44. The company's stock had a trading volume of 243,350 shares, compared to its average volume of 168,345. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $60.92. The company has a market capitalization of $1.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.14 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 4.21 and a quick ratio of 1.78. Turning Point Brands, Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.61 and a twelve month high of $81.05.

Turning Point Brands (NYSE:TPB - Get Free Report) last released 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 business had revenue of $106.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $95.75 million. Turning Point Brands had a return on equity of 33.14% and a net margin of 11.63%. Turning Point Brands's revenue was up 28.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.63 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Turning Point Brands, Inc. will post 2.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Turning Point Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 20th. Turning Point Brands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.16%.

Insider Transactions at Turning Point Brands

In related news, Director Gregory H.A. Baxter sold 1,500 shares of Turning Point Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.64, for a total value of $110,460.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 40,419 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,976,455.16. The trade was a 3.58% 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 3,500 shares of Turning Point Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.75, for a total value of $265,125.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 10,171 shares in the company, valued at approximately $770,453.25. This represents a 25.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 6.60% of the company's stock.

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.