TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. Buys 7,858 Shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its stake in shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) by 395.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,845 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,858 shares during the period. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc.’s holdings in Tractor Supply were worth $522,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its position in Tractor Supply by 390.7% during the 4th quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 39,805 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,112,000 after acquiring an additional 31,693 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 1,871.8% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 40,955 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,173,000 after purchasing an additional 38,878 shares during the period. Thematics Asset Management boosted its position in shares of Tractor Supply by 400.0% during the fourth quarter. Thematics Asset Management now owns 82,380 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $4,371,000 after purchasing an additional 65,904 shares in the last quarter. Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc. grew its stake in Tractor Supply by 397.4% in the fourth quarter. Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc. now owns 253,898 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $13,472,000 after purchasing an additional 202,857 shares during the period. Finally, Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Tractor Supply by 400.0% in the fourth quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 1,255 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 1,004 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.72% of the company’s stock.

Tractor Supply Trading Up 1.9 %

NASDAQ:TSCO opened at $49.92 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $26.54 billion, a PE ratio of 24.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $53.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.80. Tractor Supply has a 12 month low of $46.85 and a 12 month high of $61.53.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The specialty retailer reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $3.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.55 billion. Tractor Supply had a net margin of 7.40% and a return on equity of 49.01%. Research analysts forecast that Tractor Supply will post 2.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Tractor Supply announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, February 13th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the specialty retailer to reacquire up to 3.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th were given a dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.37%. This is a positive change from Tractor Supply’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. Tractor Supply’s payout ratio is 45.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Tractor Supply

In related news, CEO Harry A. Lawton III sold 88,095 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 488,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,686,430.68. This trade represents a 15.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Matthew L. Rubin sold 3,850 shares of Tractor Supply stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 31,787 shares in the company, valued at $1,833,792.03. This trade represents a 10.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 137,993 shares of company stock valued at $7,538,068. Insiders own 0.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on TSCO shares. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Tractor Supply from $63.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Tractor Supply from $44.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Tractor Supply from $59.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Guggenheim cut their price target on Tractor Supply from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Tractor Supply from $63.00 to $56.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Tractor Supply presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.88.

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.