Choate Investment Advisors Acquires 3,772 Shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

Choate Investment Advisors increased its holdings in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) by 389.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,740 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,772 shares during the quarter. Choate Investment Advisors’ holdings in Tractor Supply were worth $252,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Tractor Supply in the 4th quarter worth about $329,458,000. Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 398.9% in the 4th quarter. Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. now owns 5,118,785 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $271,674,000 after acquiring an additional 4,092,808 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,740,864 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,379,260,000 after acquiring an additional 161,503 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,518,341 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,314,521,000 after acquiring an additional 47,951 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its position in Tractor Supply by 495.2% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 4,145,992 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $225,501,000 after purchasing an additional 3,449,442 shares during the last quarter. 98.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Tractor Supply news, CEO Harry A. Lawton III sold 88,095 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.59, for a total value of $4,809,106.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 488,852 shares in the company, valued at $26,686,430.68. This represents a 15.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matthew L. Rubin sold 3,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.69, for a total transaction of $222,106.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 31,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,833,792.03. The trade was a 10.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 137,993 shares of company stock worth $7,538,068 over the last three months. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Tractor Supply Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ TSCO opened at $53.13 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $55.18 and a 200 day moving average of $55.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.85. Tractor Supply has a 12-month low of $48.30 and a 12-month high of $61.53.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty retailer reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.28 by ($1.84). Tractor Supply had a net margin of 7.40% and a return on equity of 49.01%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Tractor Supply will post 2.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Tractor Supply declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, February 13th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the specialty retailer to repurchase up to 3.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were given a $0.92 dividend. This is a positive change from Tractor Supply’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. Tractor Supply’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on TSCO. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 price objective on shares of Tractor Supply in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Tractor Supply from $44.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Tractor Supply from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Tractor Supply from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Tractor Supply from $63.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.22.

Tractor Supply Profile

Tractor Supply Company operates as a rural lifestyle retailer in the United States. The company offers various merchandise, including livestock and equine feed and equipment, poultry, fencing, and sprayers and chemicals; food, treats, and equipment for dogs, cats, and other small animals, as well as dog wellness products; seasonal and recreation products comprising tractors and riders, lawn and garden, bird feeding, power equipment, and other recreational products; truck, tool, and hardware products, such as truck accessories, trailers, generators, lubricants, batteries, and hardware and tools; and clothing, gift, and décor products consist of clothing, footwear, toys, snacks, and decorative merchandise.