Corebridge Financial Inc. Purchases 109,177 Shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

Corebridge Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) by 385.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 137,523 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 109,177 shares during the quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc.’s holdings in Tractor Supply were worth $7,297,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 392.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 64,033,972 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,397,643,000 after purchasing an additional 51,031,178 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Tractor Supply in the fourth quarter worth $329,458,000. Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 398.9% during the fourth quarter. Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. now owns 5,118,785 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $271,674,000 after buying an additional 4,092,808 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Tractor Supply by 3.5% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,740,864 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,379,260,000 after buying an additional 161,503 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp lifted 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 valued at $1,314,521,000 after acquiring an additional 47,951 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.72% of the company’s stock.

Tractor Supply Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ TSCO opened at $53.47 on Friday. Tractor Supply has a 1 year low of $48.30 and a 1 year high of $61.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 0.20. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $55.03 and a 200 day moving average of $55.64. The stock has a market cap of $28.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.85.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty retailer reported $0.44 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Tractor Supply will post 2.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were issued a dividend of $0.92 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. This is an increase from Tractor Supply’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.88%. Tractor Supply’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.10%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Tractor Supply in a research report on Friday, January 31st. 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. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Tractor Supply from $63.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Mizuho boosted 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. Finally, 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 report on Thursday, December 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.22.

Insider Transactions at Tractor Supply

In related news, SVP Matthew L. Rubin sold 3,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.69, for a total value of $222,106.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,787 shares in the company, valued at $1,833,792.03. The trade was a 10.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Colin Yankee sold 24,602 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.15, for a total value of $1,332,198.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 33,645 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,821,876.75. This represents a 42.24 % 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 valued at $7,538,068 in the last quarter. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.