Confluence Wealth Services Inc. Increases Position in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

Confluence Wealth Services Inc. lifted its position in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) by 14.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,998 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 388 shares during the period. Confluence Wealth Services Inc.’s holdings in Tractor Supply were worth $785,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,804,873 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,753,432,000 after buying an additional 48,439 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 6,233,852 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,340,589,000 after buying an additional 439,954 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 5,849,188 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,257,751,000 after buying an additional 531,170 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 63.2% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,606,455 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $990,526,000 after buying an additional 1,784,304 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 76.7% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,024,182 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $411,010,000 after buying an additional 878,874 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.72% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Tractor Supply

In related news, CFO Kurt D. Barton sold 4,335 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.00, for a total transaction of $1,114,095.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 20,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,314,246. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Kurt D. Barton sold 4,335 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.00, for a total transaction of $1,114,095.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 20,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,314,246. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Harry A. Lawton III sold 20,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.93, for a total transaction of $4,775,065.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 95,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,173,072.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 90,090 shares of company stock valued at $21,201,877. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Tractor Supply Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ TSCO traded down $4.80 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $273.08. The stock had a trading volume of 967,493 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,168,688. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $253.27 and a 200-day moving average of $227.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.19 and a current ratio of 1.40. The company has a market capitalization of $29.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.84. Tractor Supply has a 12-month low of $185.00 and a 12-month high of $279.38.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The specialty retailer reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $3.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.40 billion. Tractor Supply had a net margin of 7.66% and a return on equity of 52.99%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.65 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Tractor Supply will post 10.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. This is a boost 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 presently 42.84%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stephens downgraded shares of Tractor Supply from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $226.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $275.00 price objective on shares of Tractor Supply in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Tractor Supply from $210.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Tractor Supply from $277.00 to $289.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Mizuho restated a “neutral” rating and set a $250.00 price objective (up previously from $245.00) on shares of Tractor Supply in a research report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Tractor Supply presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $250.00.

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.