Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Purchases 613,518 Shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) by 362.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 782,788 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 613,518 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Tractor Supply were worth $41,535,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of TSCO. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Tractor Supply by 29.4% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 286 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $83,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 17.3% during the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 9,685 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,818,000 after acquiring an additional 1,430 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 163,454 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $47,554,000 after acquiring an additional 11,584 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its position in shares of Tractor Supply by 1,054.7% during the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 8,291 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,412,000 after acquiring an additional 7,573 shares during the period. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in Tractor Supply by 12.2% in the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 19,794 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $5,759,000 after purchasing an additional 2,160 shares during the period. 98.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Tractor Supply Price Performance

NASDAQ:TSCO opened at $53.47 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.21, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 0.20. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $55.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $55.64. Tractor Supply has a 1 year low of $48.30 and a 1 year high of $61.53.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 49.01% and a net margin of 7.40%. Equities analysts forecast that Tractor Supply will post 2.17 EPS for the current year.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th were issued a dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.88%. This is an increase from Tractor Supply’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. Tractor Supply’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.10%.

Tractor Supply announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the specialty retailer to buy up to 3.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on TSCO. Truist Financial cut their price target on Tractor Supply from $63.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Tractor Supply in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Tractor Supply from $262.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Tractor Supply from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Tractor Supply from $44.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.22.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Harry A. Lawton III sold 88,095 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.59, for a total value of $4,809,106.05. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 488,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,686,430.68. This represents a 15.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Matthew L. Rubin sold 3,850 shares of Tractor Supply stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.69, for a total transaction of $222,106.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 31,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,833,792.03. The trade was a 10.80 % decrease in their position. 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 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Tractor Supply 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.