Payden & Rygel Invests $7.93 Million in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

Payden & Rygel purchased a new stake in shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 149,500 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $7,932,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 385.8% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,089,542 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $59,260,000 after buying an additional 865,273 shares during the last quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. grew its position in Tractor Supply by 330.2% during the 4th quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. now owns 21,355 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,133,000 after acquiring an additional 16,391 shares during the last quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Tractor Supply by 571.8% in the 4th quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC now owns 66,815 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,545,000 after purchasing an additional 56,870 shares in the last quarter. Callan Family Office LLC bought a new position in Tractor Supply in the fourth quarter valued at about $503,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 379.0% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 890,898 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $47,271,000 after purchasing an additional 704,896 shares in the last quarter. 98.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Melissa Kersey sold 9,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.17, for a total value of $494,481.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 34,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,858,876.37. This represents a 21.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, 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 stock was sold at an average price of $54.59, for a total transaction of $4,809,106.05. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 488,852 shares in the company, valued at $26,686,430.68. This represents a 15.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 137,993 shares of company stock worth $7,538,068 over the last three months. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $67.00 price objective on shares of Tractor Supply in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Tractor Supply from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Mizuho upped their price target on Tractor Supply from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Tractor Supply in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their target price on Tractor Supply from $63.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock 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 given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Tractor Supply presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.22.

Tractor Supply Stock Down 6.0 %

TSCO stock opened at $52.40 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $54.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.61. The company has a market cap of $27.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 1.43. Tractor Supply has a fifty-two week low of $48.30 and a fifty-two week high of $61.53.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty retailer reported $0.44 earnings per share 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%. On average, research analysts expect that Tractor Supply will post 2.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Tractor Supply declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 13th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the specialty retailer to purchase up to 3.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a $0.92 dividend. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.02%. This is a positive change 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 (DPR) is 45.10%.

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.