Don't Ignore The Insider Selling In Turning Point Brands

We wouldn't blame Turning Point Brands, Inc. (NYSE:TPB) shareholders if they were a little worried about the fact that Lawrence Wexler, the Director recently netted about US$766k selling shares at an average price of US$76.56. However, it's crucial to note that they remain very much invested in the stock and that sale only reduced their holding by 2.7%.

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Turning Point Brands Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Notably, that recent sale by Lawrence Wexler is the biggest insider sale of Turning Point Brands shares that we've seen in the last year. So we know that an insider sold shares at around the present share price of US$74.28. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. Given that the sale took place at around current prices, it makes us a little cautious but is hardly a major concern.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid US$197k for 6.26k shares. On the other hand they divested 22.68k shares, for US$1.4m. In total, Turning Point Brands insiders sold more than they bought over the last year. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

View our latest analysis for Turning Point Brands

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Insider Ownership Of Turning Point Brands

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. It appears that Turning Point Brands insiders own 4.4% of the company, worth about US$58m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Turning Point Brands Tell Us?

Insiders sold Turning Point Brands shares recently, but they didn't buy any. And our longer term analysis of insider transactions didn't bring confidence, either. But since Turning Point Brands is profitable and growing, we're not too worried by this. While insiders do own shares, they don't own a heap, and they have been selling. So we'd only buy after careful consideration. So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. At Simply Wall St, we found 2 warning signs for Turning Point Brands that deserve your attention before buying any shares.

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For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.