American Century Companies Inc. Decreases Stake in Turning Point Brands, Inc. $TPB

American Century Companies Inc. reduced its position in Turning Point Brands, Inc. (NYSE:TPB) by 41.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 321,319 shares of the company’s stock after selling 226,331 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned 1.68% of Turning Point Brands worth $31,766,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Huntington National Bank increased its stake in shares of Turning Point Brands by 54.9% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 457 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Turning Point Brands during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $293,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Turning Point Brands by 73.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 49,970 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,940,000 after buying an additional 21,131 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC bought a new position in Turning Point Brands in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,735,000. Finally, Caprock Group LLC bought a new position in Turning Point Brands in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $324,000. 96.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of Turning Point Brands from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered Turning Point Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Turning Point Brands in a research report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Turning Point Brands in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Three 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Turning Point Brands presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $116.67.

Turning Point Brands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:TPB opened at $91.60 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $119.50 and a 200 day moving average of $105.64. The company has a current ratio of 5.56, a quick ratio of 3.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market cap of $1.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.27 and a beta of 0.85. Turning Point Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $51.48 and a 12 month high of $146.90.

Turning Point Brands Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 20th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This is an increase from Turning Point Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 20th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Turning Point Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.58%.

Insider Transactions at Turning Point Brands

In other news, Chairman David Edward Glazek sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.26, for a total value of $3,307,800.00. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 127,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,012,171.58. This represents a 19.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director H.C. Charles Diao sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.20, for a total value of $216,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 9,804 shares in the company, valued at $1,060,792.80. This trade represents a 16.94% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 34,000 shares of company stock valued at $3,719,340. 6.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.