National Bank of Canada FI Has $9.26 Million Position in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) by 253.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 174,379 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 124,975 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in Tractor Supply were worth $9,255,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TSCO. Smithfield Trust Co increased its holdings in Tractor Supply by 286.2% in the 4th quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 475 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. PrairieView Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 400.0% in the 4th quarter. PrairieView Partners LLC now owns 500 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Tractor Supply by 400.0% in the 4th quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC now owns 500 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Archer Investment Corp raised its holdings in Tractor Supply by 400.0% during the fourth quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 500 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kentucky Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Tractor Supply in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Institutional investors own 98.72% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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 stock was sold at an average price of $54.59, for a total transaction of $4,809,106.05. Following the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Matthew L. Rubin sold 3,850 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 31,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,833,792.03. This trade represents a 10.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 137,993 shares of company stock worth $7,538,068. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on TSCO shares. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Tractor Supply from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Tractor Supply in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $67.00 price target on shares of Tractor Supply in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Loop Capital lifted their price objective on shares of Tractor Supply from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Tractor Supply has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.22.

Tractor Supply Trading Down 6.0 %

Shares of TSCO opened at $52.40 on Friday. The firm 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. Tractor Supply has a fifty-two week low of $48.30 and a fifty-two week high of $61.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 1.43. The business has a 50-day moving average of $54.84 and a 200 day moving average of $55.61.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) last posted its earnings results 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Tractor Supply will post 2.17 EPS for the current year.

Tractor Supply declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 13th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the specialty retailer to purchase up to 3.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were issued a $0.92 dividend. This is a positive change 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 7.02%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. Tractor Supply’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.10%.

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.