Dearborn Partners LLC Acquires 628,664 Shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

Dearborn Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) by 390.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 789,672 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 628,664 shares during the quarter. Tractor Supply comprises approximately 1.8% of Dearborn Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. Dearborn Partners LLC owned about 0.15% of Tractor Supply worth $41,900,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TSCO. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. boosted its position in shares of Tractor Supply by 330.2% in the fourth quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. now owns 21,355 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,133,000 after acquiring an additional 16,391 shares during the period. Blueshift Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Tractor Supply by 32.7% in the 3rd quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC now owns 9,945 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,893,000 after purchasing an additional 2,452 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC grew its position in Tractor Supply by 16.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 27,336 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $7,953,000 after purchasing an additional 3,863 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Tractor Supply by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 631,406 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $183,695,000 after purchasing an additional 8,142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Tractor Supply by 495.1% during the 4th quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 30,485 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,618,000 after purchasing an additional 25,362 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.72% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Tractor Supply

In other news, CFO Kurt D. Barton sold 12,146 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.00, for a total transaction of $680,176.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 47,715 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,672,040. This represents a 20.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Harry A. Lawton III sold 88,095 shares of Tractor Supply stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 488,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,686,430.68. The trade was a 15.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 137,993 shares of company stock worth $7,538,068. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Tractor Supply Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of TSCO opened at $57.21 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $30.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.04, 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 business’s 50 day simple moving average is $55.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $55.79. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty retailer reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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, sell-side analysts predict that Tractor Supply will post 2.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Tractor Supply declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, February 13th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the specialty retailer to buy up to 3.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be given a $0.92 dividend. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. This is a boost from Tractor Supply’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Tractor Supply’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on TSCO shares. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Tractor Supply from $262.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 30th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Tractor Supply from $63.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 price objective on shares of Tractor Supply in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Loop Capital raised their target price on Tractor Supply from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Tractor Supply from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Two 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.com, Tractor Supply currently has an average 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.