Independent Advisor Alliance Buys 13,824 Shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its stake in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) by 428.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,054 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,824 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in Tractor Supply were worth $905,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in Tractor Supply by 2,383.3% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 149 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of Tractor Supply by 4.6% during the third quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 958 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $279,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in shares of Tractor Supply during the third quarter valued at about $474,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Tractor Supply by 34.9% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,109 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,195,000 after buying an additional 1,063 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank lifted its position in Tractor Supply by 0.7% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 5,538 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,611,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. 98.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Tractor Supply

In other news, EVP Melissa Kersey sold 9,300 shares of Tractor Supply stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 34,961 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,858,876.37. The trade was a 21.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 directly owns 31,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,833,792.03. This represents a 10.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 137,993 shares of company stock worth $7,538,068 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TSCO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Loop Capital increased their price objective on shares of Tractor Supply from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Tractor Supply from $262.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 30th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Tractor Supply from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Tractor Supply from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Tractor Supply in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Tractor Supply presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.22.

Tractor Supply Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of TSCO stock opened at $51.83 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $27.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.85. Tractor Supply has a 12-month low of $48.30 and a 12-month high of $61.53. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $55.19 and a 200-day moving average of $55.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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, equities research analysts predict that Tractor Supply will post 2.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Tractor Supply announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the specialty retailer to repurchase up to 3.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were given a dividend of $0.92 per share. This is a positive change from Tractor Supply’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.10%. Tractor Supply’s payout ratio is 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.