Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Purchases 219,983 Shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) by 421.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 272,165 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 219,983 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Tractor Supply were worth $14,441,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Madison Wealth Partners Inc raised its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 400.3% during the fourth quarter. Madison Wealth Partners Inc now owns 4,753 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $252,000 after acquiring an additional 3,803 shares during the last quarter. Wintrust Investments LLC increased its holdings in Tractor Supply by 145.7% during the 4th quarter. Wintrust Investments LLC now owns 1,995 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $105,000 after purchasing an additional 1,183 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ raised its position in Tractor Supply by 400.0% during the 4th quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 114,745 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $6,031,000 after purchasing an additional 91,796 shares during the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH lifted its holdings in Tractor Supply by 3,782.4% in the 4th quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 66,000 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,662,000 after buying an additional 64,300 shares during the period. Finally, Achmea Investment Management B.V. grew its position in shares of Tractor Supply by 344.8% in the 4th quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 70,890 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,761,000 after buying an additional 54,954 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.72% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TSCO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays decreased their target price on Tractor Supply from $262.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 30th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Tractor Supply from $63.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Mizuho lifted their target price 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. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 price target on shares of Tractor Supply in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Tractor Supply from $65.00 to $64.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.22.

Tractor Supply Trading Up 2.5 %

NASDAQ:TSCO opened at $53.13 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $28.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.04, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $55.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $55.73. Tractor Supply has a 52 week low of $48.30 and a 52 week high of $61.53.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty retailer reported $0.44 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, equities research analysts forecast that Tractor Supply will post 2.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.93%. Tractor Supply’s payout ratio is 45.10%.

Tractor Supply declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 13th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the specialty retailer to reacquire up to 3.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Tractor Supply

In other 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 transaction of $222,106.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,833,792.03. The trade was a 10.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Harry A. Lawton III sold 88,095 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.59, for a total transaction of $4,809,106.05. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 488,852 shares in the company, valued at $26,686,430.68. This represents a 15.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 137,993 shares of company stock worth $7,538,068. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Tractor Supply Company 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.