Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) Shares Bought by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO - Free Report) by 392.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 64,033,972 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 51,031,178 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 11.99% of Tractor Supply worth $3,397,643,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Tractor Supply in the 4th quarter worth $329,458,000. Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. grew its position in Tractor Supply by 398.9% in the fourth 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 grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 161,503 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Tractor Supply by 1.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,518,341 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,314,521,000 after acquiring an additional 47,951 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its position in 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 during the period. 98.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Harry A. Lawton III sold 88,095 shares of Tractor Supply stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 488,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,686,430.68. The trade was a 15.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Matthew L. Rubin sold 3,850 shares of the company'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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,787 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,833,792.03. The trade was a 10.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 137,993 shares of company stock valued at $7,538,068. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TSCO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial cut their target price on Tractor Supply from $63.00 to $60.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Tractor Supply in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays reduced 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. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Tractor Supply from $44.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $59.22.

Tractor Supply Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of TSCO traded down $0.69 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $53.47. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,599,669 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,054,910. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The company's 50-day moving average is $55.03 and its 200-day moving average is $55.65. Tractor Supply has a 52-week low of $48.30 and a 52-week high of $61.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.21, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.85.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty retailer reported $0.44 earnings per share (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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Tractor Supply will post 2.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Tractor Supply declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 13th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the specialty retailer to repurchase up to 3.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a $0.92 dividend. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.88%. This is an increase 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 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.