Long Road Investment Counsel LLC Boosts Holdings in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

Long Road Investment Counsel LLC grew its stake in shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) by 400.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,000 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,600 shares during the period. Long Road Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Tractor Supply were worth $637,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in shares of Tractor Supply by 2,383.3% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 149 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Tractor Supply by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 958 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $279,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Tractor Supply during the 3rd quarter worth about $474,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Tractor Supply by 34.9% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,109 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,195,000 after acquiring an additional 1,063 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in Tractor Supply by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 15,743 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $4,580,000 after acquiring an additional 1,210 shares during the period. 98.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Tractor Supply Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of TSCO stock opened at $53.13 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $55.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.73. Tractor Supply has a twelve month low of $48.30 and a twelve month 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 company has a market capitalization of $28.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.04, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.85.

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

Tractor Supply declared that its Board of Directors has initiated 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were issued a dividend of $0.92 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. 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 6.93%. Tractor Supply’s payout ratio is 45.10%.

Insider Activity

In other Tractor Supply news, CEO Harry A. Lawton III sold 88,095 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 488,852 shares in the company, valued at $26,686,430.68. This represents a 15.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Melissa Kersey sold 9,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.17, for a total value of $494,481.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 34,961 shares in the company, valued at $1,858,876.37. This trade represents a 21.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 137,993 shares of company stock worth $7,538,068. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on TSCO. 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. Barclays dropped their target price on 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. Bank of America increased 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. Loop Capital raised their price target on Tractor Supply from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price target on Tractor Supply from $63.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.