Gables Capital Management Inc. Has $504,000 Position in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

Gables Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) by 400.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 9,500 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,600 shares during the quarter. Gables Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Tractor Supply were worth $504,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Tractor Supply during the 4th quarter worth $329,458,000. Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Tractor Supply by 398.9% during the 4th quarter. Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. now owns 5,118,785 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $271,674,000 after acquiring an additional 4,092,808 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Tractor Supply by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,740,864 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,379,260,000 after acquiring an additional 161,503 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Tractor Supply by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,518,341 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,314,521,000 after acquiring an additional 47,951 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted 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 worth $225,501,000 after acquiring an additional 3,449,442 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.72% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Tractor Supply from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Loop Capital lifted their target price on Tractor Supply from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Evercore ISI upgraded Tractor Supply from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Tractor Supply in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their target price on Tractor Supply from $63.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.22.

Tractor Supply Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ TSCO opened at $57.21 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $30.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 0.20. Tractor Supply has a 1 year low of $48.30 and a 1 year high of $61.53. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $55.20 and a 200 day moving average of $55.79.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty retailer reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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, sell-side analysts expect that Tractor Supply will post 2.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.92 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is 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 6.43%. Tractor Supply’s payout ratio is 45.10%.

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

Insider Activity at Tractor Supply

In related news, EVP Melissa Kersey sold 9,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.17, for a total transaction of $494,481.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 34,961 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,858,876.37. This represents a 21.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Harry A. Lawton III sold 88,095 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.59, for a total value of $4,809,106.05. Following the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 137,993 shares of company stock worth $7,538,068. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company 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.