Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI Acquires New Position in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI bought a new position in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 16,860 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $887,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Tractor Supply by 398.9% in the 4th quarter. Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. now owns 5,118,785 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $271,674,000 after acquiring an additional 4,092,808 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 161,503 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Tractor Supply by 1.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,518,341 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,314,521,000 after purchasing an additional 47,951 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Tractor Supply by 403.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,912,752 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $207,611,000 after buying an additional 3,135,384 shares during the period. Finally, Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt grew its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 400.0% during the fourth quarter. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt now owns 3,750,000 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $199,012,000 after buying an additional 3,000,000 shares during the last quarter. 98.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TSCO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Loop Capital increased their target price on Tractor Supply from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Tractor Supply in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Tractor Supply from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Tractor Supply from $65.00 to $64.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Tractor Supply from $63.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.22.

Tractor Supply Trading Down 0.7 %

Tractor Supply stock opened at $54.59 on Friday. Tractor Supply has a 12 month low of $48.30 and a 12 month high of $61.53. The company has a market capitalization of $29.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.85. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $55.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $55.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Tractor Supply will post 2.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be given a dividend of $0.92 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.74%. This is an increase from Tractor Supply’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Tractor Supply’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.10%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Matthew L. Rubin sold 3,850 shares of Tractor Supply 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Harry A. Lawton III sold 88,095 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $26,686,430.68. The trade was a 15.27 % 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 worth $7,538,068 in the last three months. 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.