Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Invests $156.40 Million in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,947,687 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $156,404,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned 0.55% of Tractor Supply at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of Tractor Supply by 423.4% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 76,194 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $4,044,000 after buying an additional 61,637 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 400.0% in the fourth quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 35,855 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,902,000 after acquiring an additional 28,684 shares in the last quarter. Gen Wealth Partners Inc increased its position in shares of Tractor Supply by 513.8% during the fourth quarter. Gen Wealth Partners Inc now owns 14,320 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $760,000 after acquiring an additional 11,987 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 657.5% in the fourth quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 204,259 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $10,838,000 after acquiring an additional 177,294 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenline Partners LLC purchased a new position in Tractor Supply in the fourth quarter valued at $54,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.72% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on TSCO shares. Telsey Advisory Group set a $60.00 price target on Tractor Supply in a research report on Friday, April 25th. UBS Group set a $54.00 price objective on Tractor Supply in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Tractor Supply from $63.00 to $56.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Tractor Supply from $63.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Tractor Supply from $44.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.02.

Tractor Supply Stock Down 0.2 %

TSCO opened at $51.31 on Friday. Tractor Supply has a one year low of $46.85 and a one year high of $61.53. The company has a market cap of $27.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.15, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.82. The business’s fifty day moving average is $51.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 1.43.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The specialty retailer reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $3.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.55 billion. Tractor Supply had a net margin of 7.40% and a return on equity of 49.01%. Tractor Supply’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.83 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Tractor Supply will post 2.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid 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 7.17%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. Tractor Supply’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.77%.

Tractor Supply announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 13th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the specialty retailer to reacquire up to 3.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Tractor Supply

In other Tractor Supply news, EVP Colin Yankee sold 24,602 shares of Tractor Supply stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.15, for a total value of $1,332,198.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,821,876.75. The trade was a 42.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matthew L. Rubin sold 3,850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.69, for a total value of $222,106.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 31,787 shares in the company, valued at $1,833,792.03. This trade represents a 10.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 40,598 shares of company stock worth $2,234,481 over the last ninety days. 0.65% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.