Bank of America Corp DE Acquires 2,466,875 Shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) by 246.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,468,293 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,466,875 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned 0.65% of Tractor Supply worth $184,028,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in Tractor Supply by 385.8% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,089,542 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $59,260,000 after buying an additional 865,273 shares in the last quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. grew its stake in Tractor Supply by 330.2% during the fourth quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. now owns 21,355 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,133,000 after acquiring an additional 16,391 shares in the last quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Tractor Supply by 571.8% in the 4th quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC now owns 66,815 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,545,000 after acquiring an additional 56,870 shares during the last quarter. Heritage Trust Co bought a new stake in Tractor Supply in the 4th quarter valued at $1,829,000. Finally, Callan Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in Tractor Supply in the 4th quarter worth $503,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.72% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Tractor Supply news, EVP Colin Yankee sold 24,602 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.15, for a total transaction of $1,332,198.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,645 shares in the company, valued at $1,821,876.75. This represents a 42.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Kurt D. Barton sold 12,146 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.00, for a total transaction of $680,176.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 47,715 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,672,040. This represents a 20.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 40,598 shares of company stock worth $2,234,481. Company insiders own 0.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on TSCO shares. Bank of America lifted their target price on Tractor Supply from $44.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Telsey Advisory Group set a $60.00 price objective on Tractor Supply in a report on Friday, April 25th. UBS Group set a $54.00 price target on shares of Tractor Supply in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on shares of Tractor Supply from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Tractor Supply from $62.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $58.02.

Tractor Supply Trading Up 0.9 %

NASDAQ TSCO opened at $51.42 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $27.34 billion, a PE ratio of 25.21, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.82. Tractor Supply has a 12 month low of $46.85 and a 12 month high of $61.53. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $52.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $54.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The specialty retailer reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $3.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.55 billion. Tractor Supply had a return on equity of 49.01% and a net margin of 7.40%. The business’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.83 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Tractor Supply will post 2.17 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were given a dividend of $0.92 per share. This is an increase from Tractor Supply’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.16%. Tractor Supply’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.77%.

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.