Vanguard Group Inc. Buys 51,031,178 Shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) by 392.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 64,033,972 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 51,031,178 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.12% of Tractor Supply worth $3,397,643,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Tractor Supply by 29.4% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 286 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $83,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Tractor Supply by 8.0% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 17,726 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $5,157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,316 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 0.4% in the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 46,930 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $13,653,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its holdings in Tractor Supply by 17.3% during the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 9,685 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,818,000 after purchasing an additional 1,430 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC raised its position in Tractor Supply by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 163,454 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $47,554,000 after purchasing an additional 11,584 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.72% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on TSCO. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Tractor Supply from $44.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. 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. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Tractor Supply from $262.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 30th. Truist Financial decreased 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 note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 price objective on shares of Tractor Supply in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.22.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Matthew L. Rubin sold 3,850 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 31,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,833,792.03. This trade represents a 10.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Melissa Kersey sold 9,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.17, for a total transaction of $494,481.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 34,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,858,876.37. This represents a 21.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 137,993 shares of company stock valued at $7,538,068 in the last ninety days. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Tractor Supply Price Performance

Shares of TSCO opened at $52.83 on Wednesday. Tractor Supply has a twelve month low of $48.30 and a twelve month high of $61.53. The company has a market capitalization of $28.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.85. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $55.00 and a 200 day moving average of $55.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.

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

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a dividend of $0.92 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. 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 yield of 6.97%. Tractor Supply’s payout ratio is currently 45.10%.

Tractor Supply announced that its Board of Directors has initiated 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is 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.