Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. Acquires 570 Shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. increased its stake in shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) by 401.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 712 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 570 shares during the period. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc.’s holdings in Tractor Supply were worth $38,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. increased its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 330.2% during the 4th quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. now owns 21,355 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,133,000 after purchasing an additional 16,391 shares during the last quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Tractor Supply by 571.8% during the fourth quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC now owns 66,815 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,545,000 after purchasing an additional 56,870 shares during the period. Callan Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in Tractor Supply in the fourth quarter worth $503,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 379.0% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 890,898 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $47,271,000 after buying an additional 704,896 shares during the period. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its position in shares of Tractor Supply by 368.7% during the 4th quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 7,485 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $397,000 after buying an additional 5,888 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.72% of the company’s stock.

Tractor Supply Stock Performance

Tractor Supply stock opened at $55.10 on Tuesday. Tractor Supply has a fifty-two week low of $48.30 and a fifty-two week high of $61.53. 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 stock has a market cap of $29.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.85. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $55.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $55.65.

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

Tractor Supply announced that its board 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 reacquire up to 3.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.68%. This is a positive change from Tractor Supply’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Tractor Supply’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Tractor Supply news, CEO Harry A. Lawton III sold 88,095 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 488,852 shares in the company, valued at $26,686,430.68. This represents a 15.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matthew L. Rubin sold 3,850 shares of Tractor Supply stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.69, for a total value of $222,106.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 31,787 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,833,792.03. This represents a 10.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 137,993 shares of company stock valued at $7,538,068. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $67.00 price objective on shares of Tractor Supply in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Mizuho boosted their price target 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. Loop Capital upped their price target 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. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Tractor Supply from $262.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Tractor Supply from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Tractor Supply has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.22.

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.