T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Acquires 2,267,432 Shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO - Free Report) by 399.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,834,415 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 2,267,432 shares during the quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.53% of Tractor Supply worth $150,395,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Tractor Supply by 401.8% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 23,789,249 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,262,258,000 after acquiring an additional 19,048,385 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 403.3% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 22,256,534 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,180,932,000 after purchasing an additional 17,834,643 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of Tractor Supply by 403.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 19,433,135 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,031,122,000 after purchasing an additional 15,575,311 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors lifted 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. Institutional investors own 98.72% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Tractor Supply

In other news, 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 34,961 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,858,876.37. This represents a 21.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $222,106.50. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,787 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,833,792.03. This represents a 10.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 137,993 shares of company stock worth $7,538,068. Company insiders own 0.65% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on TSCO. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Tractor Supply from $63.00 to $56.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Tractor Supply from $59.00 to $51.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Bank of America lifted their target price on Tractor Supply from $44.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Tractor Supply from $262.00 to $52.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Tractor Supply from $59.00 to $56.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Tractor Supply has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $58.47.

Tractor Supply Stock Performance

Shares of TSCO stock traded down $0.92 during trading on Monday, reaching $49.00. The company had a trading volume of 6,417,434 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,119,981. Tractor Supply has a one year low of $46.85 and a one year 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's 50 day simple moving average is $53.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $54.73. The company has a market capitalization of $26.05 billion, a PE ratio of 24.02, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.88.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The specialty retailer reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.55 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.83 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Tractor Supply will post 2.17 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were given a $0.92 dividend. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.51%. 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 (DPR) is currently 45.77%.

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.