Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Lowers Position in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P decreased its position in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) by 49.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 23,613 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 23,317 shares during the quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P’s holdings in Tractor Supply were worth $1,253,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smithfield Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 286.2% during the 4th quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 475 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares during the period. PrairieView Partners LLC grew its stake in Tractor Supply by 400.0% during the fourth quarter. PrairieView Partners LLC now owns 500 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC increased its holdings in Tractor Supply by 400.0% during the 4th quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC now owns 500 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Archer Investment Corp lifted its stake in Tractor Supply by 400.0% in the 4th quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 500 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kentucky Trust Co bought a new position in Tractor Supply in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.72% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Tractor Supply from $44.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $67.00 price target on shares of Tractor Supply in a report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Tractor Supply from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Loop Capital raised their target price on shares of Tractor Supply from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Tractor Supply from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.22.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Tractor Supply news, EVP Melissa Kersey sold 9,300 shares of Tractor Supply stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.17, for a total transaction of $494,481.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 34,961 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,858,876.37. The trade was a 21.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $222,106.50. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,787 shares in the company, valued at $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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 137,993 shares of company stock worth $7,538,068. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Tractor Supply Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:TSCO opened at $53.47 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.21, a P/E/G 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. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $55.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $55.65. Tractor Supply has a 52-week low of $48.30 and a 52-week high of $61.53.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty retailer reported $0.44 earnings per share (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, equities research analysts anticipate that Tractor Supply will post 2.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a dividend of $0.92 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.88%. This is a positive change from Tractor Supply’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Tractor Supply’s payout ratio is presently 45.10%.

Tractor Supply declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the specialty retailer to buy up to 3.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.