Beacon Investment Advisors LLC Buys 6,946 Shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

Beacon Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) by 400.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,682 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 6,946 shares during the period. Beacon Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Tractor Supply were worth $461,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smithfield Trust Co increased its position in Tractor Supply by 286.2% in the fourth quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 475 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC raised its position in shares of Tractor Supply by 400.0% during the 4th quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC now owns 500 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Archer Investment Corp grew its position in Tractor Supply by 400.0% in the fourth quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 500 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. PrairieView Partners LLC raised its position in Tractor Supply by 400.0% during the fourth quarter. PrairieView Partners LLC now owns 500 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Finally, Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Tractor Supply in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.72% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Tractor Supply

In other news, EVP Melissa Kersey sold 9,300 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 34,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,858,876.37. The trade was a 21.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Harry A. Lawton III sold 88,095 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 488,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,686,430.68. The trade was a 15.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 137,993 shares of company stock valued at $7,538,068. 0.65% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TSCO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Tractor Supply in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $56.00 price objective on the stock. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Tractor Supply in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Tractor Supply from $44.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Tractor Supply from $63.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 target price on shares of Tractor Supply in a research report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Tractor Supply presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.07.

Tractor Supply Stock Up 1.5 %

Tractor Supply stock opened at $50.11 on Monday. 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 firm has a market cap of $26.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.88. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $53.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $55.07. Tractor Supply has a 52 week low of $46.97 and a 52 week high of $61.53.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 49.01% and a net margin of 7.40%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Tractor Supply will post 2.17 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were issued a dividend of $0.92 per share. This is a boost from Tractor Supply’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.34%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. Tractor Supply’s payout ratio is currently 45.10%.

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.