TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its position in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO - Free Report) by 395.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,845 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after buying an additional 7,858 shares during the quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc.'s holdings in Tractor Supply were worth $522,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in TSCO. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its stake in Tractor Supply by 390.7% in the fourth quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 39,805 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $2,112,000 after acquiring an additional 31,693 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in shares of Tractor Supply by 1,871.8% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 40,955 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $2,173,000 after purchasing an additional 38,878 shares during the period. Thematics Asset Management boosted its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 400.0% during the fourth quarter. Thematics Asset Management now owns 82,380 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $4,371,000 after purchasing an additional 65,904 shares in the last quarter. Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc. increased its holdings in Tractor Supply by 397.4% during the fourth quarter. Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc. now owns 253,898 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $13,472,000 after buying an additional 202,857 shares during the period. Finally, Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Tractor Supply by 400.0% in the fourth quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 1,255 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 1,004 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.72% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TSCO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays reduced their price target on 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. Guggenheim dropped their price target on Tractor Supply from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Bank of America increased their price objective 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 set a $60.00 target price on shares of Tractor Supply in a research report on Friday. Finally, UBS Group set a $54.00 price target on shares of Tractor Supply in a report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Tractor Supply presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $58.02.

Tractor Supply Price Performance

Shares of Tractor Supply stock traded up $0.87 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $49.87. The stock had a trading volume of 3,464,401 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,113,384. 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 has a twelve month low of $46.85 and a twelve month high of $61.53. The stock's 50 day moving average is $52.86 and its 200 day moving average is $54.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.51 billion, a PE ratio of 24.45, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.88.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The specialty retailer reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $3.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.55 billion. Tractor Supply had a net margin of 7.40% and a return on equity of 49.01%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.83 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Tractor Supply will post 2.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.38%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. This is an increase from Tractor Supply's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Tractor Supply's dividend payout ratio is 45.77%.

Tractor Supply declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, February 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the specialty retailer to reacquire up to 3.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Tractor Supply

In other Tractor Supply news, SVP Matthew L. Rubin sold 3,850 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 31,787 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,833,792.03. This represents a 10.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Harry A. Lawton III sold 88,095 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.59, for a total value of $4,809,106.05. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 488,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,686,430.68. This represents a 15.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 137,993 shares of company stock valued at $7,538,068. 0.65% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.