Franklin Resources Inc. Purchases 174,641 Shares of Tractor Supply Company $TSCO

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Tractor Supply Company (NASDAQ:TSCO) by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,619,107 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 174,641 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Tractor Supply were worth $319,559,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Tractor Supply during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. acquired a new position in Tractor Supply during the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,000. Clayton Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Tractor Supply during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $44,000. First Horizon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Tractor Supply in the third quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Evelyn Partners Asset Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of Tractor Supply in the second quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.72% of the company’s stock.

Tractor Supply Stock Performance

Shares of TSCO stock opened at $49.47 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 1.34. The firm has a market cap of $26.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.72. Tractor Supply Company has a 52 week low of $46.85 and a 52 week high of $63.99. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $52.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $54.41.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The specialty retailer reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.03). Tractor Supply had a return on equity of 44.36% and a net margin of 7.06%.The company had revenue of $3.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.44 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Tractor Supply Company will post 2.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 24th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 24th. This is a positive change from Tractor Supply’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Tractor Supply’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Colin Yankee sold 11,170 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.35, for a total value of $618,259.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 45,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,519,255.25. The trade was a 19.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Harry A. Lawton III sold 84,670 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.16, for a total transaction of $4,501,057.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 606,842 shares in the company, valued at $32,259,720.72. The trade was a 12.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 222,348 shares of company stock worth $11,959,621 in the last ninety days. 0.65% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on TSCO. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Tractor Supply from $63.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of Tractor Supply in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Tractor Supply from $55.00 to $53.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Argus reduced their price objective on shares of Tractor Supply from $67.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Tractor Supply from $62.00 to $59.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.78.

Tractor Supply Company Profile

Tractor Supply Company (NASDAQ: TSCO) is a specialty retailer focused on products for the home, farm, ranch and outdoors. The company operates a network of physical retail locations complemented by an e-commerce platform, offering a one-stop source of supplies and equipment for customers with rural and suburban lifestyles. Its merchandise assortment targets a range of needs, from animal and livestock care to maintenance, outdoor power equipment, and seasonal products.

Product categories include animal feed and supplies, pet products, fencing and fencing supplies, equine equipment, lawn and garden tools, work clothing and footwear, and small agricultural and outdoor power equipment.