TD Private Client Wealth LLC Raises Position in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its stake in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) by 400.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 9,420 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,537 shares during the quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC’s holdings in Tractor Supply were worth $500,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Tractor Supply during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $329,458,000. Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 398.9% in the fourth quarter. Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. now owns 5,118,785 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $271,674,000 after purchasing an additional 4,092,808 shares during the period. Amundi grew its holdings in Tractor Supply by 495.2% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 4,145,992 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $225,501,000 after purchasing an additional 3,449,442 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Tractor Supply by 403.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,912,752 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $207,611,000 after buying an additional 3,135,384 shares during the period. Finally, Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt lifted its holdings in Tractor Supply by 400.0% in the 4th quarter. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt now owns 3,750,000 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $199,012,000 after buying an additional 3,000,000 shares in the last quarter. 98.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TSCO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America lifted their target price on Tractor Supply from $44.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $67.00 target price on shares of Tractor Supply in a research report on Thursday, January 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 note on Thursday, January 23rd. Loop Capital lifted their price target on shares of Tractor Supply from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Tractor Supply from $65.00 to $64.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 25th. 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 given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.22.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Matthew L. Rubin sold 3,850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.69, for a total transaction of $222,106.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 31,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,833,792.03. This trade represents a 10.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Colin Yankee sold 24,602 shares of Tractor Supply stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.15, for a total value of $1,332,198.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,645 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,821,876.75. The trade was a 42.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 137,993 shares of company stock worth $7,538,068 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Tractor Supply Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of TSCO stock opened at $53.53 on Tuesday. Tractor Supply has a 1 year low of $48.30 and a 1 year high of $61.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.59 billion, a PE ratio of 26.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.85. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $55.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $55.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 1.43.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) last issued 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 net margin of 7.40% and a return on equity of 49.01%. As a group, research analysts expect that Tractor Supply will post 2.17 EPS for the current year.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a $0.92 dividend. 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 dividend yield of 6.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. Tractor Supply’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.10%.

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

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.