Motley Fool Asset Management LLC Has $4.63 Million Holdings in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) by 450.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 87,336 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 71,481 shares during the period. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Tractor Supply were worth $4,634,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Cynosure Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 322.5% during the fourth quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 6,460 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $343,000 after purchasing an additional 4,931 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank boosted its position in Tractor Supply by 415.1% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 28,525 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,514,000 after buying an additional 22,987 shares during the period. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC grew its holdings in Tractor Supply by 537.2% during the 4th quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC now owns 16,840 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $894,000 after acquiring an additional 14,197 shares during the last quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. grew its holdings in Tractor Supply by 400.0% during the 4th quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. now owns 1,000 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 404.5% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,188,663 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $222,250,000 after acquiring an additional 3,358,470 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.72% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Tractor Supply

In other news, CEO Harry A. Lawton III sold 88,095 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 488,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,686,430.68. This represents a 15.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 represents a 10.80 % 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 valued at $7,538,068 over the last ninety days. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on TSCO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Tractor Supply from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Mizuho upped their price target on Tractor Supply from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Loop Capital raised their price objective on Tractor Supply from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays reduced their target price on Tractor Supply from $262.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 30th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price target 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.22.

Tractor Supply Stock Performance

Shares of Tractor Supply stock opened at $55.62 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $54.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $55.64. Tractor Supply has a one year low of $48.30 and a one 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.26, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.85.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) last issued 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 return on equity of 49.01% and a net margin of 7.40%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Tractor Supply will post 2.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Tractor Supply announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the specialty retailer to purchase up to 3.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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 6.62%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. Tractor Supply’s payout ratio is currently 45.10%.

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.