Chesley Taft & Associates LLC Raises Stock Position in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) by 1.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 117,790 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,245 shares during the quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s holdings in Tractor Supply were worth $6,490,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC grew its stake in Tractor Supply by 944.4% during the 4th quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 470 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 425 shares during the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of Tractor Supply by 286.2% in the fourth quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 475 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares during the period. Archer Investment Corp grew its position in shares of Tractor Supply by 400.0% during 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 during the last quarter. PrairieView Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Tractor Supply by 400.0% in the 4th quarter. PrairieView Partners LLC now owns 500 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Finally, Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Tractor Supply in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.72% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on TSCO. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Tractor Supply from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Raymond James reduced their price objective on Tractor Supply from $61.00 to $57.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Telsey Advisory Group set a $60.00 price target on Tractor Supply in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Tractor Supply in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $56.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Guggenheim reduced their target price on shares of Tractor Supply from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.02.

Tractor Supply Price Performance

Tractor Supply stock opened at $49.34 on Thursday. Tractor Supply has a 1 year low of $46.85 and a 1 year high of $61.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 1.43. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $50.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.56. The company has a market cap of $26.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.19, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.74.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The specialty retailer reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $3.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.55 billion. Tractor Supply had a net margin of 7.40% and a return on equity of 49.01%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.83 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Tractor Supply will post 2.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Tractor Supply Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 28th will be issued a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 28th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.86%. Tractor Supply’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.77%.

Tractor Supply announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the specialty retailer to buy up to 3.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Tractor Supply news, SVP Matthew L. Rubin sold 2,810 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.76, for a total value of $145,445.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 29,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,538,410.72. This trade represents a 8.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.65% of the company’s stock.

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.