Patten & Patten Inc. TN Increases Stock Position in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

Patten & Patten Inc. TN grew its holdings in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) by 389.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 373,615 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 297,334 shares during the quarter. Tractor Supply accounts for about 1.3% of Patten & Patten Inc. TN’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Patten & Patten Inc. TN owned about 0.07% of Tractor Supply worth $19,824,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Tractor Supply in the 4th quarter valued at $329,458,000. Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Tractor Supply by 398.9% during the 4th quarter. Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. now owns 5,118,785 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $271,674,000 after purchasing an additional 4,092,808 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Tractor Supply by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,740,864 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,379,260,000 after buying an additional 161,503 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Tractor Supply by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,518,341 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,314,521,000 after buying an additional 47,951 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its stake in Tractor Supply by 495.2% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 4,145,992 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $225,501,000 after purchasing an additional 3,449,442 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.72% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Tractor Supply from $65.00 to $64.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 25th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Tractor Supply in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Tractor Supply from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $67.00 target price on shares of Tractor Supply in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Tractor Supply from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Tractor Supply has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.22.

Tractor Supply Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of TSCO stock opened at $51.83 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.85. Tractor Supply has a twelve month low of $48.30 and a twelve month high of $61.53. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $55.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.73. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Tractor Supply will post 2.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were issued a dividend of $0.92 per share. 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 7.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. Tractor Supply’s payout ratio is currently 45.10%.

Tractor Supply declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the specialty retailer to buy up to 3.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Tractor Supply news, SVP Matthew L. Rubin sold 3,850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 is available through this link. Also, CFO Kurt D. Barton sold 12,146 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.00, for a total value of $680,176.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 47,715 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,672,040. The trade was a 20.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 137,993 shares of company stock valued at $7,538,068. Corporate 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.