Bell Asset Management Ltd Acquires 107,353 Shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

Bell Asset Management Ltd increased its holdings in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) by 536.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 127,350 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 107,353 shares during the quarter. Tractor Supply comprises approximately 1.2% of Bell Asset Management Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Bell Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Tractor Supply were worth $6,757,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Tractor Supply by 392.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 64,033,972 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,397,643,000 after purchasing an additional 51,031,178 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of 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 last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in 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 buying an additional 17,834,643 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Tractor Supply by 403.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,519,937 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $768,838,000 after acquiring an additional 11,634,249 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Tractor Supply by 391.0% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,821,654 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $574,197,000 after purchasing an additional 8,617,869 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.72% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on TSCO. Barclays decreased 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 report on Monday, December 30th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $67.00 price objective on shares of Tractor Supply in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Mizuho increased their target price on Tractor Supply from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Truist Financial dropped their price target 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, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Tractor Supply from $44.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.22.

Insider Buying and Selling at Tractor Supply

In related news, EVP Melissa Kersey sold 9,300 shares of Tractor Supply stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 34,961 shares in the company, valued at $1,858,876.37. This trade represents a 21.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Matthew L. Rubin sold 3,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.69, for a total transaction of $222,106.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 31,787 shares in the company, valued at $1,833,792.03. The trade was a 10.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 137,993 shares of company stock worth $7,538,068. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Tractor Supply Stock Performance

Shares of TSCO stock opened at $52.40 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $27.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.69, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.88. Tractor Supply has a 52-week low of $48.30 and a 52-week high of $61.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The company’s 50 day moving average is $54.84 and its 200 day moving average is $55.62.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty retailer reported $0.44 earnings per share 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Tractor Supply will post 2.17 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.92 per share. This is a positive change from Tractor Supply’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.02%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. Tractor Supply’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.10%.

Tractor Supply announced that its board has approved a share buyback 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is 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.