Motley Fool Asset Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 22,575 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 686 shares during the quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Tractor Supply were worth $4,854,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 9,370.6% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,822,151 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $573,038,000 after purchasing an additional 2,792,352 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Tractor Supply by 76.7% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,024,182 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $411,010,000 after acquiring an additional 878,874 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in Tractor Supply by 3.2% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,582,582 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $321,354,000 after acquiring an additional 49,173 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Tractor Supply by 4.7% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,182,164 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $240,038,000 after acquiring an additional 52,583 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Tractor Supply by 22.4% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,148,340 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $233,170,000 after acquiring an additional 210,131 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.72% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Kurt D. Barton sold 4,335 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.00, for a total value of $1,114,095.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 20,678 shares in the company, valued at $5,314,246. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CFO Kurt D. Barton sold 4,335 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.00, for a total value of $1,114,095.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 20,678 shares in the company, valued at $5,314,246. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Robert D. Mills sold 48,334 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were 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 approximately $5,147,842.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 90,090 shares of company stock worth $21,201,877. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Tractor Supply Trading Up 2.8 %

Shares of Tractor Supply stock traded up $7.13 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $265.26. The stock had a trading volume of 2,295,194 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,167,099. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $251.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $226.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.84 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. Tractor Supply has a 1 year low of $185.00 and a 1 year high of $268.02.

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

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were issued a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.66%. This is an increase from Tractor Supply’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. Tractor Supply’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on TSCO shares. Barclays upped their price objective on Tractor Supply from $192.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $275.00 price objective on shares of Tractor Supply in a report on Thursday. UBS Group upped their target price on Tractor Supply from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $195.00 target price on shares of Tractor Supply in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $235.00 target price on shares of Tractor Supply in a report on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Tractor Supply presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $241.65.

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.