Sandy Spring Bank Has $53,000 Stake in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

Sandy Spring Bank raised its position in shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) by 547.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 991 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 838 shares during the period. Sandy Spring Bank’s holdings in Tractor Supply were worth $53,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 1,674.7% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 18,492 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $5,380,000 after purchasing an additional 17,450 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 13.2% during 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. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 20.5% during the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 79,532 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $23,138,000 after purchasing an additional 13,556 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 3.7% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 830,193 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $241,528,000 after purchasing an additional 29,730 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 1.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 631,406 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $183,695,000 after purchasing an additional 8,142 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.72% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Tractor Supply in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Tractor Supply from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $67.00 price objective on shares of Tractor Supply in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays reduced their price objective 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, Loop Capital raised their price objective on shares of Tractor Supply from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.22.

Insider Buying and Selling at Tractor Supply

In other news, CEO Harry A. Lawton III sold 88,095 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.59, for a total transaction of $4,809,106.05. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 488,852 shares in the company, valued at $26,686,430.68. The trade was a 15.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Colin Yankee sold 24,602 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.15, for a total transaction of $1,332,198.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 33,645 shares in the company, valued at $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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 137,993 shares of company stock worth $7,538,068. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Tractor Supply Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:TSCO opened at $52.46 on Friday. Tractor Supply has a 12 month low of $48.30 and a 12 month high of $61.53. 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 fifty day simple moving average is $55.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.68. The firm has a market cap of $28.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.72, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.85.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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, research analysts forecast that Tractor Supply will post 2.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a $0.92 dividend. This is a positive change from Tractor Supply’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. Tractor Supply’s payout ratio is presently 45.10%.

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

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.