Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Takes $156.40 Million Position in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 2,947,687 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $156,404,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Tractor Supply by 392.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 64,033,972 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,397,643,000 after buying an additional 51,031,178 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Tractor Supply by 401.8% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 23,789,249 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,262,258,000 after acquiring an additional 19,048,385 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in shares of Tractor Supply by 403.3% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 22,256,534 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,180,932,000 after acquiring an additional 17,834,643 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Tractor Supply by 403.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 19,433,135 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,031,122,000 after purchasing an additional 15,575,311 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in Tractor Supply by 334.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,429,288 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $818,421,000 after purchasing an additional 11,880,010 shares during the period. 98.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Tractor Supply

In other news, EVP Colin Yankee sold 24,602 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.15, for a total transaction of $1,332,198.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,821,876.75. This represents a 42.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Matthew L. Rubin sold 3,850 shares of Tractor Supply stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.69, for a total value of $222,106.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,787 shares in the company, valued at $1,833,792.03. This represents a 10.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 40,598 shares of company stock valued at $2,234,481 in the last three months. 0.65% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Tractor Supply Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of Tractor Supply stock opened at $51.31 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.14. The firm has a market cap of $27.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.82. Tractor Supply has a fifty-two week low of $46.85 and a fifty-two week high of $61.53. 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 (NASDAQ:TSCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The specialty retailer reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.03). Tractor Supply had a net margin of 7.40% and a return on equity of 49.01%. The business had revenue of $3.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.83 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Tractor Supply will post 2.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Tractor Supply declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 13th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the specialty retailer to reacquire up to 3.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.17%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. This is an increase from Tractor Supply’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Tractor Supply’s dividend payout ratio is 45.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TSCO has been the subject of several research reports. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Tractor Supply from $62.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Telsey Advisory Group set a $60.00 price target on Tractor Supply in a report on Friday, April 25th. Raymond James lowered their price objective on Tractor Supply from $61.00 to $57.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Tractor Supply in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $56.00 price target for the company. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Tractor Supply from $44.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.02.

Tractor Supply 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.