Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Purchases 304,528 Shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its position in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) by 438.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 374,037 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 304,528 shares during the quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Tractor Supply were worth $19,846,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Providence Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Tractor Supply in the third quarter valued at $32,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Tractor Supply by 29.4% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 286 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Tractor Supply by 13.2% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 351 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $102,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Tractor Supply in the third quarter valued at $111,000. Finally, Glen Eagle Advisors LLC increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.72% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on TSCO shares. 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. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Tractor Supply from $65.00 to $64.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Tractor Supply from $63.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays decreased their price objective on Tractor Supply from $262.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Tractor Supply from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Tractor Supply presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.22.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Matthew L. Rubin sold 3,850 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.69, for a total transaction of $222,106.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,787 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,833,792.03. This trade represents a 10.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Melissa Kersey sold 9,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.17, for a total transaction of $494,481.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 34,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Tractor Supply Stock Up 1.2 %

TSCO opened at $52.46 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $28.01 billion, a PE ratio of 25.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.85. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $55.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.67. Tractor Supply has a 52 week low of $48.30 and a 52 week high of $61.53. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty retailer reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Analysts forecast that Tractor Supply will post 2.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a dividend of $0.92 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. This is an increase 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 7.01%. Tractor Supply’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.10%.

Tractor Supply announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 13th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the specialty retailer to repurchase up to 3.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.