Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Buys 32,373 Shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its stake in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) by 415.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 40,160 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 32,373 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Tractor Supply were worth $2,131,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Tractor Supply in the 4th quarter worth $329,458,000. Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Tractor Supply by 398.9% in the 4th quarter. Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. now owns 5,118,785 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $271,674,000 after purchasing an additional 4,092,808 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Tractor Supply by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,740,864 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,379,260,000 after purchasing an additional 161,503 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Tractor Supply by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,518,341 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,314,521,000 after purchasing an additional 47,951 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its position in shares of Tractor Supply by 495.2% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 4,145,992 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $225,501,000 after purchasing an additional 3,449,442 shares during the last quarter. 98.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Kurt D. Barton sold 12,146 shares of Tractor Supply stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.00, for a total transaction of $680,176.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 47,715 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,672,040. This trade represents a 20.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matthew L. Rubin sold 3,850 shares of Tractor Supply stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.69, for a total value of $222,106.50. Following the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 137,993 shares of company stock worth $7,538,068. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America raised their price objective on Tractor Supply from $44.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Tractor Supply from $262.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Tractor Supply from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 price objective on shares of Tractor Supply in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Loop Capital raised their price objective on Tractor Supply from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Tractor Supply presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.22.

Tractor Supply Price Performance

NASDAQ:TSCO opened at $51.83 on Monday. 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’s 50-day simple moving average is $55.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.74. The company has a market cap of $27.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.85. Tractor Supply has a 52-week low of $48.30 and a 52-week high of $61.53.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) last released its earnings results 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 net margin of 7.40% and a return on equity of 49.01%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Tractor Supply will post 2.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Tractor Supply announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 13th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the specialty retailer to buy up to 3.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th were issued a dividend of $0.92 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.10%. This is a boost from Tractor Supply’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Tractor Supply’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.10%.

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.