Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Has $4.81 Million Stake in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) by 411.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 90,711 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 72,985 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Tractor Supply were worth $4,814,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Baldwin Investment Management LLC raised its position in Tractor Supply by 0.3% during the third quarter. Baldwin Investment Management LLC now owns 11,402 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,317,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank increased its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 5,538 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,611,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Tractor Supply by 13.2% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 351 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $102,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of Tractor Supply by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 958 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $279,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cynosure Group LLC boosted its stake in Tractor Supply by 2.8% in the third quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 1,529 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $445,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.72% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TSCO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Tractor Supply from $65.00 to $64.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of 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. boosted their target price on shares of Tractor Supply from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Tractor Supply from $63.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note 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 assigned a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.22.

Insider Transactions at Tractor Supply

In related news, SVP Matthew L. Rubin sold 3,850 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,833,792.03. This represents a 10.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Harry A. Lawton III sold 88,095 shares of Tractor Supply stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,686,430.68. This trade represents a 15.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 137,993 shares of company stock valued at $7,538,068 in the last quarter. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Tractor Supply Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ TSCO opened at $52.36 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $27.96 billion, a PE ratio of 25.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.85. 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 has a twelve month low of $48.30 and a twelve month high of $61.53. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $55.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $55.77.

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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Tractor Supply will post 2.17 EPS for the current year.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were issued a dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.03%. This is a boost from Tractor Supply’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. Tractor Supply’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.10%.

Tractor Supply announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share 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 buy up to 3.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is 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.