Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 56,620 Shares of Turning Point Brands, Inc. (NYSE:TPB)

Franklin Resources Inc. lessened its stake in Turning Point Brands, Inc. (NYSE:TPB) by 36.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 100,469 shares of the company’s stock after selling 56,620 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Turning Point Brands were worth $6,038,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of TPB. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in shares of Turning Point Brands by 36.1% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 318,552 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,145,000 after acquiring an additional 84,552 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Turning Point Brands by 40.2% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 203,706 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,243,000 after acquiring an additional 58,425 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Turning Point Brands by 84.5% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 123,079 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,311,000 after acquiring an additional 56,364 shares during the last quarter. 272 Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Turning Point Brands in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,488,000. Finally, King Luther Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Turning Point Brands in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,374,000. Institutional investors own 96.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on TPB shares. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $85.00 target price on Turning Point Brands in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Turning Point Brands in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Alliance Global Partners assumed coverage on Turning Point Brands in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $80.00 price target for the company. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Turning Point Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $73.33.

Turning Point Brands Stock Up 5.1 %

Shares of NYSE:TPB opened at $58.02 on Thursday. Turning Point Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $26.45 and a 52-week high of $72.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.02 and a beta of 0.70. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $62.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $57.11. 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 Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be given a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. This is a positive change from Turning Point Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. Turning Point Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.15%.

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.