Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. Grows Holdings in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. raised its position in shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) by 371.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 34,615 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 27,267 shares during the quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc.’s holdings in Tractor Supply were worth $1,837,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. boosted its holdings in Tractor Supply by 330.2% in 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 stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 32.7% in the third quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC now owns 9,945 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,893,000 after acquiring an additional 2,452 shares during the period. Callan Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Tractor Supply during the fourth quarter worth about $503,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in Tractor Supply by 379.0% during 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, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its holdings in Tractor Supply by 368.7% in the 4th quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 7,485 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $397,000 after purchasing an additional 5,888 shares in the last quarter. 98.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 price objective on shares of Tractor Supply in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Truist Financial reduced their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target 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. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Tractor Supply in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Loop Capital boosted 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Tractor Supply has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.22.

Tractor Supply Price Performance

Shares of TSCO stock opened at $52.83 on Wednesday. Tractor Supply has a twelve month low of $48.30 and a twelve month high of $61.53. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $55.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.85.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) last released its quarterly earnings data 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, analysts predict that Tractor Supply will post 2.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a dividend of $0.92 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. This is an increase from Tractor Supply’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.97%. Tractor Supply’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.10%.

Tractor Supply declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program 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 programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Tractor Supply

In other Tractor Supply news, CEO Harry A. Lawton III sold 88,095 shares of Tractor Supply 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 488,852 shares in the company, valued at $26,686,430.68. The trade was a 15.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Melissa Kersey sold 9,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.17, for a total transaction of $494,481.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 34,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,858,876.37. This represents a 21.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 137,993 shares of company stock valued at $7,538,068 over the last ninety days. 0.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.