Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) Shares Acquired by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its stake in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) by 14.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 117,978 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 15,084 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Tractor Supply were worth $25,369,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Significant Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Tractor Supply in the fourth quarter worth $695,000. Duality Advisers LP boosted its position in shares of Tractor Supply by 282.2% in the fourth quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 20,654 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $4,441,000 after buying an additional 15,250 shares during the period. Cetera Trust Company N.A acquired a new stake in shares of Tractor Supply in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its position in shares of Tractor Supply by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 9,998 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,150,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Tractor Supply in the fourth quarter worth $1,450,000. 98.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Tractor Supply Trading Up 3.3 %

Tractor Supply stock opened at $273.90 on Friday. Tractor Supply has a 52 week low of $185.00 and a 52 week high of $274.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 1.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.56 billion, a PE ratio of 26.67, a PEG ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 0.84. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $252.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $226.59.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The specialty retailer reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.13. Tractor Supply had a return on equity of 52.99% and a net margin of 7.66%. The firm had revenue of $3.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.65 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Tractor Supply will post 10.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. This is a positive change from Tractor Supply’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. Tractor Supply’s payout ratio is currently 42.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on TSCO. Stephens cut Tractor Supply from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $226.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $256.00 price objective on shares of Tractor Supply in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Mizuho reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $250.00 price objective (up previously from $245.00) on shares of Tractor Supply in a research report on Friday. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Tractor Supply from $210.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $275.00 price objective on shares of Tractor Supply in a research report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $248.17.

Insider Activity at Tractor Supply

In related news, EVP Jonathan S. Estep sold 7,120 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.26, for a total transaction of $1,653,691.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,605 shares in the company, valued at $3,159,897.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Jonathan S. Estep sold 7,120 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.26, for a total transaction of $1,653,691.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,605 shares in the company, valued at $3,159,897.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Harry A. Lawton III sold 20,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.93, for a total value of $4,775,065.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 95,192 shares in the company, valued at $22,173,072.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 90,090 shares of company stock worth $21,201,877 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.