Advisors Capital Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

Advisors Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO - Free Report) by 570.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,378 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 14,785 shares during the period. Advisors Capital Management LLC's holdings in Tractor Supply were worth $922,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TSCO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays lowered their price target on Tractor Supply from $262.00 to $52.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 30th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Tractor Supply from $44.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Stephens started coverage on Tractor Supply in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $56.00 target price on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $67.00 price target on shares of Tractor Supply in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Tractor Supply from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Tractor Supply presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $59.07.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Harry A. Lawton III sold 88,095 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $26,686,430.68. This represents a 15.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Melissa Kersey sold 9,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.17, for a total value of $494,481.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 34,961 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,858,876.37. This represents a 21.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 137,993 shares of company stock worth $7,538,068. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Tractor Supply Trading Up 1.5 %

TSCO stock traded up $0.75 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $50.11. 4,481,903 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,113,095. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $53.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $55.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.64 billion, a PE ratio of 24.56, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 1.43. Tractor Supply has a one year low of $46.97 and a one year high of $61.53.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty retailer reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.28 by ($1.84). Tractor Supply had a net margin of 7.40% and a return on equity of 49.01%. Equities research analysts expect that Tractor Supply will post 2.17 EPS for the current year.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th were issued a $0.92 dividend. This is an increase from Tractor Supply's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. Tractor Supply's payout ratio is presently 45.10%.

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

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.