Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC Has $85.37 Million Stock Position in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) by 405.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,608,970 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,290,470 shares during the quarter. Tractor Supply makes up approximately 1.7% of Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC’s holdings in Tractor Supply were worth $85,372,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of TSCO. Smithfield Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of Tractor Supply by 286.2% in the fourth quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 475 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. PrairieView Partners LLC increased its position in Tractor Supply by 400.0% during the 4th quarter. PrairieView Partners LLC now owns 500 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC lifted its stake in Tractor Supply by 400.0% in the 4th quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC now owns 500 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Archer Investment Corp boosted its position in Tractor Supply by 400.0% in the fourth quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 500 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kentucky Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Tractor Supply during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Institutional investors own 98.72% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 $26,686,430.68. The trade was a 15.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Melissa Kersey sold 9,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.17, for a total value of $494,481.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 34,961 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,858,876.37. The trade was a 21.01 % decrease in their position. 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. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Tractor Supply Stock Performance

TSCO stock opened at $51.84 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $27.68 billion, a PE ratio of 25.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.85. 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 50-day moving average price of $55.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $55.67. Tractor Supply has a 1-year low of $48.30 and a 1-year high of $61.53.

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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Tractor Supply will post 2.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Tractor Supply declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase 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 purchase up to 3.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th were given a dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. This is an increase from Tractor Supply’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Tractor Supply’s payout ratio is presently 45.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on TSCO. Barclays dropped their price target on Tractor Supply from $262.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 30th. Mizuho increased their target price on Tractor Supply from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America lifted their price target on Tractor Supply from $44.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Tractor Supply in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Loop Capital lifted their target price on shares of Tractor Supply from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.22.

Tractor Supply Company 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.