Greenline Partners LLC Invests $54,000 in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

Greenline Partners LLC bought a new position in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,015 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $54,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of TSCO. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Tractor Supply by 418.5% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 46,140 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,446,000 after purchasing an additional 37,242 shares during the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. grew its holdings in Tractor Supply by 392.9% during the 4th quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 4,515 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $240,000 after acquiring an additional 3,599 shares during the last quarter. First Hawaiian Bank acquired a new stake in Tractor Supply in the 4th quarter valued at about $337,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 392.3% in the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 640 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 510 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Tractor Supply by 349.7% during the fourth quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 6,048 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $321,000 after purchasing an additional 4,703 shares in the last quarter. 98.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on TSCO. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Tractor Supply in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $56.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Tractor Supply from $59.00 to $56.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Tractor Supply from $63.00 to $56.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Tractor Supply from $62.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Tractor Supply from $59.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued 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

Shares of TSCO opened at $51.31 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $51.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $54.17. Tractor Supply has a 52-week low of $46.85 and a 52-week 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 market capitalization of $27.28 billion, a PE ratio of 25.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.82.

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

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were given 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 is currently 45.77%.

Tractor Supply declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, February 13th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the specialty retailer to repurchase up to 3.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Tractor Supply news, SVP Matthew L. Rubin sold 3,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 31,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,833,792.03. This represents a 10.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Kurt D. Barton sold 12,146 shares of Tractor Supply stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.00, for a total transaction of $680,176.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 47,715 shares in the company, valued at $2,672,040. This trade represents a 20.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 40,598 shares of company stock worth $2,234,481. 0.65% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.