Long Road Investment Counsel LLC Purchases 9,600 Shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

Long Road Investment Counsel LLC lifted its stake in shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO - Free Report) by 400.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,000 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 9,600 shares during the quarter. Long Road Investment Counsel LLC's holdings in Tractor Supply were worth $637,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Tractor Supply during the fourth quarter worth about $329,458,000. Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Tractor Supply by 3.5% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Tractor Supply by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,518,341 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,314,521,000 after purchasing an additional 47,951 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its holdings in Tractor Supply by 495.2% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 4,145,992 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $225,501,000 after acquiring an additional 3,449,442 shares during the last quarter. 98.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Matthew L. Rubin sold 3,850 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.69, for a total transaction of $222,106.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 31,787 shares in the company, valued at $1,833,792.03. The trade was a 10.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Melissa Kersey sold 9,300 shares of the business'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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 34,961 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,858,876.37. This trade represents a 21.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 137,993 shares of company stock worth $7,538,068 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TSCO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Tractor Supply in a report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Tractor Supply from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $67.00 price objective on shares of Tractor Supply in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Tractor Supply from $262.00 to $52.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 30th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Tractor Supply from $63.00 to $60.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Tractor Supply currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $59.22.

Tractor Supply Stock Performance

NASDAQ TSCO traded up $0.62 on Friday, hitting $52.46. 6,332,636 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,910,810. 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 business's fifty day moving average is $55.03 and its 200 day moving average is $55.67. Tractor Supply has a 52 week low of $48.30 and a 52 week high of $61.53. The company has a market capitalization of $28.01 billion, a PE ratio of 25.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.85.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Tractor Supply will post 2.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Tractor Supply announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th were given a dividend of $0.92 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. This is an increase from Tractor Supply's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.01%. Tractor Supply's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.10%.

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.