Trexquant Investment LP Acquires New Position in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

Trexquant Investment LP bought a new stake in shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 292,783 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $15,535,000. Trexquant Investment LP owned about 0.05% of Tractor Supply at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Tractor Supply by 392.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 64,033,972 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $3,397,643,000 after acquiring an additional 51,031,178 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Tractor Supply by 401.8% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 23,789,249 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,262,258,000 after buying an additional 19,048,385 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in Tractor Supply by 403.3% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 22,256,534 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,180,932,000 after buying an additional 17,834,643 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Tractor Supply by 403.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,519,937 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $768,838,000 after buying an additional 11,634,249 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Tractor Supply by 391.0% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,821,654 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $574,197,000 after acquiring an additional 8,617,869 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

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $67.00 price objective on shares of Tractor Supply in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Tractor Supply from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays dropped their price objective 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. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Tractor Supply from $63.00 to $60.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Tractor Supply in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $59.22.

Tractor Supply Price Performance

Shares of TSCO stock traded down $3.37 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $52.40. 7,533,363 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,086,192. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 1.43. The firm has a market cap of $27.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.88. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $54.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $55.61. Tractor Supply has a twelve month low of $48.30 and a twelve month high of $61.53.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO - Get Free Report) last issued 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 return on equity of 49.01% and a net margin of 7.40%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Tractor Supply will post 2.17 earnings per share for the current year.

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 issued a dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.02%. This is a boost from Tractor Supply's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. Tractor Supply's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.10%.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Matthew L. Rubin sold 3,850 shares of Tractor Supply stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.69, for a total value of $222,106.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 31,787 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,833,792.03. This trade represents a 10.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Harry A. Lawton III sold 88,095 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 137,993 shares of company stock worth $7,538,068. 0.24% of the stock is owned by 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.