12,489 Shares in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) Bought by AXQ Capital LP

AXQ Capital LP bought a new position in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 12,489 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $663,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of TSCO. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Tractor Supply by 1,674.7% in 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 acquiring an additional 17,450 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Tractor Supply by 13.2% during the 3rd 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 position in Tractor Supply by 20.5% in the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 79,532 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $23,138,000 after purchasing an additional 13,556 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Tractor Supply by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 830,193 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $241,528,000 after purchasing an additional 29,730 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position 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 buying an additional 8,142 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.72% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Tractor Supply

In other Tractor Supply news, EVP Colin Yankee sold 24,602 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.15, for a total value of $1,332,198.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,645 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,821,876.75. This trade represents a 42.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Harry A. Lawton III sold 88,095 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.59, for a total value of $4,809,106.05. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 488,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,686,430.68. The trade was a 15.27 % decrease in their position. 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 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays decreased their target price on Tractor Supply from $262.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 30th. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on Tractor Supply from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Tractor Supply in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 price target on shares of Tractor Supply in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Tractor Supply from $65.00 to $64.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.22.

Tractor Supply Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of TSCO opened at $52.46 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 1.43. The company 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. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $55.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $55.68. Tractor Supply has a 52-week low of $48.30 and a 52-week high of $61.53.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) last released 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 net margin of 7.40% and a return on equity of 49.01%. Analysts predict that Tractor Supply will post 2.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

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 paid a dividend of $0.92 per share. This is a boost from Tractor Supply’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. Tractor Supply’s dividend payout ratio is 45.10%.

Tractor Supply 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.