Vista Investment Partners II LLC Purchases Shares of 4,615 Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

Vista Investment Partners II LLC bought a new stake in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 4,615 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $245,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blueshift Asset Management LLC increased 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 worth $2,893,000 after buying an additional 2,452 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 16.5% in the third quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 27,336 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $7,953,000 after acquiring an additional 3,863 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Tractor Supply by 1.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 631,406 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $183,695,000 after purchasing an additional 8,142 shares during the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its position in Tractor Supply by 495.1% during the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 30,485 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,618,000 after purchasing an additional 25,362 shares during the period. Finally, Welch & Forbes LLC boosted its holdings in Tractor Supply by 391.4% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.72% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on TSCO. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 price objective on shares of Tractor Supply in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Tractor Supply from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Tractor Supply from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Tractor Supply from $65.00 to $64.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Tractor Supply in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Tractor Supply presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.22.

Tractor Supply Trading Up 4.2 %

TSCO opened at $56.89 on Monday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $30.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.89, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $55.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $55.76. Tractor Supply has a 12 month low of $48.30 and a 12 month high of $61.53.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 49.01% and a net margin of 7.40%. Sell-side analysts expect that Tractor Supply will post 2.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be issued a $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.47%. This is an increase from Tractor Supply’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Tractor Supply’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.10%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Harry A. Lawton III sold 88,095 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 488,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,686,430.68. The trade was a 15.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Matthew L. Rubin sold 3,850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 31,787 shares in the company, valued at $1,833,792.03. This represents a 10.80 % decrease in their position. 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 90 days. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.