Empirical Finance LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

Empirical Finance LLC boosted its position in shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,810 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Tractor Supply were worth $1,108,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Tractor Supply by 527.7% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 26,501 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $7,155,000 after purchasing an additional 22,279 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its stake in Tractor Supply by 2.1% during the second quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 4,504 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,216,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in Tractor Supply by 11,952.8% during the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 241,177 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $63,121,000 after buying an additional 239,176 shares in the last quarter. Silvant Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Tractor Supply by 20.9% in the 3rd quarter. Silvant Capital Management LLC now owns 14,781 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $4,300,000 after acquiring an additional 2,556 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Tractor Supply by 12.5% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,330,621 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $871,691,000 after acquiring an additional 368,859 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.72% of the company’s stock.

Tractor Supply Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ TSCO opened at $275.66 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $284.33 and its 200 day moving average is $275.32. Tractor Supply has a 52 week low of $193.73 and a 52 week high of $307.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The company has a market cap of $29.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.82, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.82.

Tractor Supply Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 25th will be paid a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 25th. Tractor Supply’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.80%.

Insider Transactions at Tractor Supply

In other Tractor Supply news, CFO Kurt D. Barton sold 23,532 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.64, for a total transaction of $6,957,000.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 9,683 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,862,682.12. This represents a 70.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Benchmark upped their price objective on shares of Tractor Supply from $280.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Tractor Supply from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $270.00 price objective on shares of Tractor Supply in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Gordon Haskett lowered shares of Tractor Supply from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Loop Capital increased their target price on Tractor Supply from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $282.82.

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.