Fidelis Capital Partners LLC Has $321,000 Stock Holdings in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

Fidelis Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) by 397.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,890 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,706 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Tractor Supply were worth $321,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 398.9% in the fourth quarter. Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. now owns 5,118,785 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $271,674,000 after acquiring an additional 4,092,808 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 403.3% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,912,752 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $207,611,000 after acquiring an additional 3,135,384 shares during the last quarter. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt grew its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 400.0% in the fourth quarter. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt now owns 3,750,000 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $199,012,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000,000 shares during the last quarter. Provident Trust Co. grew its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 397.4% in the fourth quarter. Provident Trust Co. now owns 3,380,905 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $179,391,000 after acquiring an additional 2,701,204 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 345.2% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,402,070 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $74,394,000 after acquiring an additional 1,087,112 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.72% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on TSCO. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $67.00 price objective on shares of Tractor Supply in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Bank of America raised their target price on Tractor Supply from $44.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Mizuho raised their target price on Tractor Supply from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Tractor Supply in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Loop Capital raised their target price on Tractor Supply from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.22.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kurt D. Barton sold 12,146 shares of Tractor Supply stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 47,715 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. Insiders sold a total of 137,993 shares of company stock worth $7,538,068 over the last three months. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Tractor Supply Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:TSCO opened at $54.59 on Friday. Tractor Supply has a twelve month low of $48.30 and a twelve month high of $61.53. The firm has a market cap of $29.15 billion, a PE ratio of 26.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.85. 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $55.08 and a 200-day moving average of $55.71.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) last announced its 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 predict that Tractor Supply will post 2.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be given a $0.92 dividend. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.74%. This is a positive change from Tractor Supply’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. Tractor Supply’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.10%.

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

About Tractor Supply

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.