Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC Acquires 7,493 Shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC increased its holdings in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) by 401.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,359 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 7,493 shares during the period. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in Tractor Supply were worth $497,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Blueshift Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Tractor Supply by 32.7% in the third quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC now owns 9,945 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,893,000 after acquiring an additional 2,452 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Tractor Supply by 16.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 27,336 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $7,953,000 after purchasing an additional 3,863 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Tractor Supply by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 631,406 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $183,695,000 after purchasing an additional 8,142 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC grew its holdings in Tractor Supply by 495.1% during the 4th quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 30,485 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,618,000 after buying an additional 25,362 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ethos Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Tractor Supply by 402.6% during the 4th quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 5,860 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $311,000 after buying an additional 4,694 shares in the last quarter. 98.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Tractor Supply news, CEO Harry A. Lawton III sold 88,095 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.59, for a total transaction of $4,809,106.05. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Matthew L. Rubin sold 3,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 137,993 shares of company stock valued at $7,538,068 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on TSCO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Tractor Supply from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Tractor Supply in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 price target on shares of Tractor Supply in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Evercore ISI upgraded Tractor Supply from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Bank of America lifted 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.22.

Tractor Supply Trading Up 4.2 %

TSCO stock opened at $56.89 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $30.38 billion, a PE ratio of 27.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.85. 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 has a one year low of $48.30 and a one year high of $61.53. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $55.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.76.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) last issued 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 return on equity of 49.01% and a net margin of 7.40%. As a group, analysts predict that Tractor Supply will post 2.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.92 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. This is a boost from Tractor Supply’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.47%. Tractor Supply’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.10%.

Tractor Supply Company 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.