Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) Shares Sold by Central Bank & Trust Co.

Central Bank & Trust Co. reduced its stake in shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) by 7.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 80,059 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 6,622 shares during the period. Central Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Tractor Supply were worth $4,411,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Bennett Selby Investments LP raised its holdings in shares of Tractor Supply by 2.3% during the first quarter. Bennett Selby Investments LP now owns 14,741 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $812,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Tractor Supply by 13.7% during the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 8,690 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $479,000 after purchasing an additional 1,047 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Tractor Supply during the first quarter worth $204,000. Wedmont Private Capital raised its holdings in shares of Tractor Supply by 2.5% during the first quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 8,714 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $450,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of Tractor Supply by 5.6% during the first quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,003,882 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $55,314,000 after purchasing an additional 53,214 shares during the last quarter. 98.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Tractor Supply Stock Performance

TSCO opened at $50.94 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.01 billion, a PE ratio of 24.97, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.74. Tractor Supply has a twelve month low of $46.85 and a twelve month high of $61.53. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $50.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $53.51. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The specialty retailer reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $3.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.83 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Tractor Supply will post 2.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Tractor Supply Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 28th will be given a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 28th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.81%. Tractor Supply’s payout ratio is presently 45.77%.

Tractor Supply declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, February 13th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the specialty retailer to purchase up to 3.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on TSCO. Mizuho reduced their target price 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. UBS Group set a $54.00 price objective on shares of Tractor Supply in a report on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Tractor Supply from $59.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Tractor Supply from $59.00 to $56.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Raymond James cut their price objective on shares of Tractor Supply from $61.00 to $57.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.02.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Matthew L. Rubin sold 2,810 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.76, for a total transaction of $145,445.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 29,722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,538,410.72. The trade was a 8.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.65% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.