T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Purchases 2,267,432 Shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) by 399.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 2,834,415 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 2,267,432 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Tractor Supply were worth $150,395,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in TSCO. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Tractor Supply in the 3rd quarter valued at about $734,000. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in Tractor Supply by 722.5% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 95,172 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $27,688,000 after acquiring an additional 83,601 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Tractor Supply by 2.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 454,175 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $137,950,000 after acquiring an additional 8,890 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Tractor Supply by 345.6% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 860 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 667 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Tractor Supply by 515.5% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 13,702 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $727,000 after acquiring an additional 11,476 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.72% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Tractor Supply news, SVP Matthew L. Rubin sold 3,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,833,792.03. This represents a 10.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Harry A. Lawton III sold 88,095 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.59, for a total transaction of $4,809,106.05. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 488,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,686,430.68. This represents a 15.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 137,993 shares of company stock worth $7,538,068. Corporate insiders own 0.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on TSCO shares. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Tractor Supply from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 target price on shares of Tractor Supply in a research report on Thursday. Barclays lowered their price target on Tractor Supply from $262.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 30th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Tractor Supply in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Tractor Supply from $44.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Tractor Supply has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.07.

Tractor Supply Price Performance

Shares of TSCO opened at $49.00 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. Tractor Supply has a twelve month low of $46.85 and a twelve month high of $61.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a 50 day moving average of $53.19 and a 200-day moving average of $54.88.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The specialty retailer reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.03). Tractor Supply had a return on equity of 49.01% and a net margin of 7.40%. The business had revenue of $3.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.55 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Tractor Supply will post 2.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Tractor Supply announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, February 13th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the specialty retailer to reacquire up to 3.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th were given a $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.51%. This is an increase from Tractor Supply’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Tractor Supply’s payout ratio is currently 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.