Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Purchases 34,605 Shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. lifted its position in shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) by 325.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 45,230 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 34,605 shares during the quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s holdings in Tractor Supply were worth $2,400,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in TSCO. Condor Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Tractor Supply by 391.4% during the fourth quarter. Condor Capital Management now owns 42,779 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,270,000 after purchasing an additional 34,073 shares in the last quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Tractor Supply by 571.8% during the 4th quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC now owns 66,815 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,545,000 after acquiring an additional 56,870 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lifted its stake in Tractor Supply by 383.7% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 113,586 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $6,027,000 after acquiring an additional 90,104 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its holdings in shares of Tractor Supply by 41.6% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 34,510 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,831,000 after acquiring an additional 10,144 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 400.0% in the fourth quarter. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,460 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $343,000 after acquiring an additional 5,168 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.72% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Tractor Supply

In related news, CEO Harry A. Lawton III sold 88,095 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 488,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,686,430.68. This trade represents a 15.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matthew L. Rubin sold 3,850 shares of the business’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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,787 shares in the company, valued at $1,833,792.03. The trade was a 10.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 137,993 shares of company stock valued at $7,538,068. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on TSCO. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Tractor Supply from $262.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 30th. Truist Financial dropped their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Tractor Supply from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America increased their target price on Tractor Supply from $44.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Tractor Supply from $65.00 to $64.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Tractor Supply has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.22.

Tractor Supply Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ TSCO opened at $51.84 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $27.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.85. Tractor Supply has a 52-week low of $48.30 and a 52-week high of $61.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 1.43. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $55.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $55.67.

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

Tractor Supply declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the specialty retailer to reacquire up to 3.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were given a dividend of $0.92 per share. 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 7.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. Tractor Supply’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.10%.

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.