Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Acquires 10,417 Shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. raised its stake in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO - Free Report) by 1,471.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 11,125 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after buying an additional 10,417 shares during the quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Tractor Supply were worth $590,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Tractor Supply in the 4th quarter worth approximately $329,458,000. Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in Tractor Supply by 398.9% during the 4th quarter. Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. now owns 5,118,785 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $271,674,000 after acquiring an additional 4,092,808 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 3.5% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,740,864 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,379,260,000 after purchasing an additional 161,503 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Tractor Supply by 1.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,518,341 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,314,521,000 after purchasing an additional 47,951 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi raised its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 495.2% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 4,145,992 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $225,501,000 after purchasing an additional 3,449,442 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.72% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on TSCO shares. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Tractor Supply from $44.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $67.00 price objective on shares of Tractor Supply in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Loop Capital boosted their target price on Tractor Supply from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Evercore ISI raised Tractor Supply from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Tractor Supply from $65.00 to $64.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $59.22.

Tractor Supply Trading Down 1.3 %

Tractor Supply stock traded down $0.70 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $51.66. The stock had a trading volume of 4,827,829 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,409,740. Tractor Supply has a twelve month low of $48.30 and a twelve month high of $61.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 0.20. The firm has a market cap of $27.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.32, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.85. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $55.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $55.77.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty retailer reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.28 by ($1.84). Tractor Supply had a net margin of 7.40% and a return on equity of 49.01%. Equities analysts anticipate that Tractor Supply will post 2.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were given a $0.92 dividend. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.12%. This is a positive change from Tractor Supply's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. Tractor Supply's dividend payout ratio is 45.10%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Tractor Supply news, CEO Harry A. Lawton III sold 88,095 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.59, for a total value of $4,809,106.05. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 488,852 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,686,430.68. The trade was 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 hyperlink. Also, EVP Melissa Kersey sold 9,300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.17, for a total transaction of $494,481.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 34,961 shares in the company, valued at $1,858,876.37. This represents a 21.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 137,993 shares of company stock worth $7,538,068. 0.24% of the stock is 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.