Level Four Advisory Services LLC Raises Position in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

Level Four Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) by 401.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,410 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,534 shares during the quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Tractor Supply were worth $499,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in TSCO. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co boosted its stake in Tractor Supply by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 978 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $285,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Synergy Financial Group LTD lifted its holdings in shares of Tractor Supply by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter. Synergy Financial Group LTD now owns 1,090 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $317,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Tractor Supply by 0.5% in the third quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 27,710 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $8,058,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Tractor Supply by 75.8% in the third quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC now owns 464 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $135,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Motley Fool Asset Management LLC increased its position in Tractor Supply by 1.7% during the third quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 15,855 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $4,679,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.72% of the company’s stock.

Tractor Supply Stock Up 3.0 %

Shares of Tractor Supply stock opened at $55.10 on Tuesday. Tractor Supply has a 1-year low of $48.30 and a 1-year high of $61.53. The company has a market capitalization of $29.42 billion, a PE ratio of 27.01, a P/E/G 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. The business has a 50-day moving average of $55.06 and a 200-day moving average of $55.65.

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, equities analysts forecast that Tractor Supply will post 2.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Tractor Supply declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 13th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the specialty retailer to reacquire up to 3.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.68%. This is an increase from Tractor Supply’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. Tractor Supply’s dividend payout ratio is 45.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 transaction of $4,809,106.05. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kurt D. Barton sold 12,146 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.00, for a total value of $680,176.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 47,715 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,672,040. This represents a 20.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 137,993 shares of company stock valued at $7,538,068 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on TSCO. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Tractor Supply from $44.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Tractor Supply from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $67.00 price objective on shares of Tractor Supply in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Loop Capital boosted their target price on Tractor Supply from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Tractor Supply from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Two research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.22.

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.