Korea Investment CORP Buys 71,949 Shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

Korea Investment CORP grew its stake in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) by 459.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 87,600 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 71,949 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in Tractor Supply were worth $4,648,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Tractor Supply by 392.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 64,033,972 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,397,643,000 after acquiring an additional 51,031,178 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Tractor Supply in the fourth quarter worth $329,458,000. Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Tractor Supply by 398.9% during the fourth quarter. Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. now owns 5,118,785 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $271,674,000 after purchasing an additional 4,092,808 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Tractor Supply by 3.5% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,740,864 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,379,260,000 after purchasing an additional 161,503 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Tractor Supply by 1.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,518,341 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,314,521,000 after buying an additional 47,951 shares during the last quarter. 98.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Tractor Supply news, SVP Matthew L. Rubin sold 3,850 shares of Tractor Supply stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kurt D. Barton sold 12,146 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.00, for a total value of $680,176.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 47,715 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,672,040. This 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 have sold 137,993 shares of company stock worth $7,538,068. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Tractor Supply Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of TSCO opened at $55.13 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $55.02 and its 200 day moving average is $55.64. 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 has a 12-month low of $48.30 and a 12-month high of $61.53. The company has a market capitalization of $29.44 billion, a PE ratio of 27.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.85.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 7.40% and a return on equity of 49.01%. Research analysts expect that Tractor Supply will post 2.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Tractor Supply announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the specialty retailer to purchase up to 3.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were issued a $0.92 dividend. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.68%. This is a boost from Tractor Supply’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. Tractor Supply’s payout ratio is 45.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on TSCO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Tractor Supply from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $67.00 target price on shares of Tractor Supply in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Tractor Supply from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Loop Capital raised their price target on Tractor Supply from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on Tractor Supply from $44.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Tractor Supply currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.