Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. Grows Position in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. lifted its position in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) by 371.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 34,615 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 27,267 shares during the period. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc.’s holdings in Tractor Supply were worth $1,837,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Baldwin Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Tractor Supply by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Baldwin Investment Management LLC now owns 11,402 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,317,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Cynosure Group LLC increased its position in shares of Tractor Supply by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 1,529 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $445,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Tractor Supply by 29.4% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 286 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $83,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co raised its position in Tractor Supply by 7.1% in the third quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 978 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $285,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Providence Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Tractor Supply during the third quarter worth $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.72% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TSCO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays lowered their target price on Tractor Supply from $262.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 30th. Mizuho lifted their price objective 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. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 price objective on shares of Tractor Supply in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Tractor Supply from $44.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price objective 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Tractor Supply currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.22.

Insider Transactions at Tractor Supply

In related news, CEO Harry A. Lawton III sold 88,095 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.59, for a total transaction of $4,809,106.05. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Matthew L. Rubin sold 3,850 shares of the firm’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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,833,792.03. This trade represents a 10.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 137,993 shares of company stock worth $7,538,068. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Tractor Supply Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ TSCO opened at $52.83 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $55.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $55.67. The stock has a market cap of $28.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.85. Tractor Supply has a twelve month low of $48.30 and a twelve month high of $61.53. 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 (NASDAQ:TSCO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty retailer reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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, research analysts forecast that Tractor Supply will post 2.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders 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 represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.97%. This is an increase from Tractor Supply’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Tractor Supply’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.10%.

Tractor Supply announced that its board has approved a share repurchase 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.