Sandy Spring Bank Buys 838 Shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

Sandy Spring Bank increased its stake in shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) by 547.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 991 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 838 shares during the quarter. Sandy Spring Bank’s holdings in Tractor Supply were worth $53,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 16,391 shares during the period. Blueshift Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Tractor Supply by 32.7% in the 3rd quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC now owns 9,945 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,893,000 after purchasing an additional 2,452 shares during the period. Callan Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Tractor Supply in the 4th quarter valued at about $503,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in Tractor Supply by 379.0% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 890,898 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $47,271,000 after purchasing an additional 704,896 shares during the period. Finally, Welch & Forbes LLC boosted its holdings in Tractor Supply by 391.4% in the 4th quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 484,922 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,730,000 after purchasing an additional 386,233 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.72% of the company’s stock.

Tractor Supply Price Performance

TSCO stock opened at $52.46 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $55.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $55.68. The stock has a market cap of $28.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.85. Tractor Supply has a 1 year low of $48.30 and a 1 year high of $61.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 0.20.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty retailer reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.28 by ($1.84). Tractor Supply had a net margin of 7.40% and a return on equity of 49.01%. Research analysts anticipate that Tractor Supply will post 2.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Tractor Supply announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 13th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the specialty retailer to repurchase up to 3.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were given a $0.92 dividend. This is a boost from Tractor Supply’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. Tractor Supply’s dividend payout ratio is 45.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Tractor Supply

In other news, EVP Melissa Kersey sold 9,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.17, for a total value of $494,481.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 34,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,858,876.37. This represents a 21.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Harry A. Lawton III sold 88,095 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 approximately $26,686,430.68. This represents a 15.27 % 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 worth $7,538,068. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on TSCO. 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 objective on shares of Tractor Supply from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays cut 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 report on Monday, December 30th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Tractor Supply from $63.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their target price on shares of Tractor Supply from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Two investment 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.22.

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.