Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA Raises Holdings in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA raised its position in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) by 424.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,725 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,634 shares during the period. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA’s holdings in Tractor Supply were worth $332,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Baldwin Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Tractor Supply by 0.3% in the third quarter. Baldwin Investment Management LLC now owns 11,402 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,317,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in Tractor Supply by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 5,538 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,611,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Tractor Supply by 13.2% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 351 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $102,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its stake in Tractor Supply by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 958 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $279,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cynosure Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Tractor Supply by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 1,529 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $445,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.72% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Matthew L. Rubin sold 3,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.69, for a total transaction of $222,106.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,833,792.03. The trade was a 10.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Harry A. Lawton III sold 88,095 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 488,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,686,430.68. This trade represents a 15.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 137,993 shares of company stock worth $7,538,068 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Tractor Supply Price Performance

TSCO opened at $56.89 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $55.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $55.70. Tractor Supply has a 12-month low of $48.30 and a 12-month high of $61.53. The firm has a market cap of $30.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.89, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 expect that Tractor Supply will post 2.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Tractor Supply declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be given a $0.92 dividend. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.47%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. This is a boost from Tractor Supply’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Tractor Supply’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Truist Financial cut their price target on Tractor Supply from $63.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Mizuho raised their target price on Tractor Supply from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Evercore ISI raised shares of Tractor Supply from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Tractor Supply in a 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 note on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Tractor Supply presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.22.

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.