Cognios Beta Neutral Large Cap Fund LP Has $480,000 Stake in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

Cognios Beta Neutral Large Cap Fund LP decreased its holdings in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) by 7.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,230 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 187 shares during the period. Cognios Beta Neutral Large Cap Fund LP’s holdings in Tractor Supply were worth $480,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Tractor Supply in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Tractor Supply in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Tractor Supply by 105.6% in the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 148 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Tractor Supply in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Cetera Trust Company N.A acquired a new position in shares of Tractor Supply in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.72% of the company’s stock.

Tractor Supply Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ TSCO traded up $2.17 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $258.13. 1,321,543 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,152,812. Tractor Supply has a 12 month low of $185.00 and a 12 month high of $268.02. The firm has a market cap of $27.86 billion, a PE ratio of 25.58, a PEG ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 1.50. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $251.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $225.83.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The specialty retailer reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.06. Tractor Supply had a return on equity of 53.60% and a net margin of 7.61%. The company had revenue of $3.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.67 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.43 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Tractor Supply will post 10.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a $1.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. This is a positive change from Tractor Supply’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.70%. Tractor Supply’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TSCO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $195.00 target price on shares of Tractor Supply in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Tractor Supply from $256.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Telsey Advisory Group upped their price objective on shares of Tractor Supply from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Tractor Supply from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Stephens downgraded shares of Tractor Supply from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $226.00 to $240.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $241.65.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Harry A. Lawton III sold 20,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.93, for a total value of $4,775,065.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 95,192 shares in the company, valued at $22,173,072.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Harry A. Lawton III sold 20,500 shares of Tractor Supply stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.93, for a total value of $4,775,065.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 95,192 shares in the company, valued at $22,173,072.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Robert D. Mills sold 48,334 shares of Tractor Supply stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.23, for a total value of $11,224,604.82. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,147,842.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 90,090 shares of company stock worth $21,201,877. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.