Lee Danner & Bass Inc. Purchases 10,996 Shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

Lee Danner & Bass Inc. increased its position in shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) by 400.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,745 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,996 shares during the period. Lee Danner & Bass Inc.’s holdings in Tractor Supply were worth $729,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of TSCO. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Tractor Supply during the 4th quarter worth $329,458,000. Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. grew its position in Tractor Supply by 398.9% during the 4th quarter. Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. now owns 5,118,785 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $271,674,000 after acquiring an additional 4,092,808 shares during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its holdings in Tractor Supply by 495.2% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 4,145,992 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $225,501,000 after buying an additional 3,449,442 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Tractor Supply by 403.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,912,752 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $207,611,000 after buying an additional 3,135,384 shares during the period. Finally, Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt lifted its holdings in Tractor Supply by 400.0% during the 4th quarter. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt now owns 3,750,000 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $199,012,000 after buying an additional 3,000,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.72% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Kurt D. Barton sold 12,146 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.00, for a total value of $680,176.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matthew L. Rubin sold 3,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.69, for a total value 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 approximately $1,833,792.03. This represents a 10.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 137,993 shares of company stock valued at $7,538,068. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Tractor Supply Stock Up 1.2 %

TSCO stock opened at $52.46 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $55.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.67. Tractor Supply has a fifty-two week low of $48.30 and a fifty-two 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 company has a market cap of $28.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.85.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, research analysts expect that Tractor Supply will post 2.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Tractor Supply declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, February 13th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits 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 management believes its shares are undervalued.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were issued a dividend of $0.92 per share. This is a positive change from Tractor Supply’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.01%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. Tractor Supply’s payout ratio is currently 45.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 target price on shares of Tractor Supply in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Tractor Supply from $65.00 to $64.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 25th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Tractor Supply from $44.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Truist Financial cut their target price on Tractor Supply from $63.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Loop Capital lifted their target price on Tractor Supply from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock 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.