BCM Advisors LLC Buys 23,044 Shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

BCM Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) by 400.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 28,805 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,044 shares during the period. BCM Advisors LLC’s holdings in Tractor Supply were worth $1,544,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Atria Investments Inc lifted its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 407.7% during the 4th quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 118,146 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $6,269,000 after buying an additional 94,877 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 636.9% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,098 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 949 shares in the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 286.2% during the 4th quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 475 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp lifted its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 751.6% during the 4th quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 3,628 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $191,000 after buying an additional 3,202 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crew Capital Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 94.5% during the 4th quarter. Crew Capital Management Ltd. now owns 5,240 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $278,000 after buying an additional 2,546 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.72% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on TSCO. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Tractor Supply from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Tractor Supply from $44.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Tractor Supply from $63.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $67.00 target price on shares of Tractor Supply in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.22.

Insider Activity at Tractor Supply

In other Tractor Supply news, SVP Matthew L. Rubin sold 3,850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.69, for a total value of $222,106.50. Following the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Harry A. Lawton III sold 88,095 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.59, for a total transaction of $4,809,106.05. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 488,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,686,430.68. This trade represents a 15.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 137,993 shares of company stock valued at $7,538,068. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Tractor Supply Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:TSCO opened at $54.59 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $55.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $55.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.76, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.85. Tractor Supply has a one year low of $48.30 and a one year high of $61.53. 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 (NASDAQ:TSCO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty retailer reported $0.44 EPS 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Tractor Supply will post 2.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.92 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.74%. This is a positive change from Tractor Supply’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Tractor Supply’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.10%.

Tractor Supply announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 13th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the specialty retailer to buy up to 3.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership 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.