Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Increases Holdings in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) by 421.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 272,165 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 219,983 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC owned 0.05% of Tractor Supply worth $14,441,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Baldwin Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Tractor Supply by 0.3% in the third quarter. Baldwin Investment Management LLC now owns 11,402 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,317,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Tractor Supply by 13.2% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 351 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $102,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its holdings in Tractor Supply by 4.6% during the third quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 958 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $279,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Cynosure Group LLC grew its holdings in Tractor Supply by 2.8% during the third quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 1,529 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $445,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Strategy Asset Managers LLC increased its position in Tractor Supply by 5.4% in the third quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 1,198 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $348,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.72% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TSCO has been the subject of several research reports. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Tractor Supply in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Loop Capital increased their target price on shares of Tractor Supply from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Tractor Supply from $44.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Tractor Supply from $262.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 30th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Tractor Supply from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.22.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Melissa Kersey sold 9,300 shares of Tractor Supply stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.17, for a total value of $494,481.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 34,961 shares in the company, valued at $1,858,876.37. This trade represents a 21.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Matthew L. Rubin sold 3,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,833,792.03. This represents a 10.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 137,993 shares of company stock worth $7,538,068 in the last quarter. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Tractor Supply Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of Tractor Supply stock opened at $53.13 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 0.20. Tractor Supply has a 1 year low of $48.30 and a 1 year high of $61.53. The firm has a market cap of $28.37 billion, a PE ratio of 26.04, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $55.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.73.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty retailer reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by ($1.84). Tractor Supply had a return on equity of 49.01% and a net margin of 7.40%. Analysts expect that Tractor Supply will post 2.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

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

Tractor Supply announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the specialty retailer to buy up to 3.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

About Tractor Supply

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.