Kesler Norman & Wride LLC Increases Position in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

Kesler Norman & Wride LLC grew its holdings in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) by 537.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,840 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,197 shares during the quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC’s holdings in Tractor Supply were worth $894,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. 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 report on Thursday, January 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $67.00 price objective on shares of Tractor Supply in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Tractor Supply in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Tractor Supply from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price target on Tractor Supply from $63.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two 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.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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 dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 34,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,858,876.37. The trade was a 21.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Matthew L. Rubin sold 3,850 shares of the company’s 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 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. Insiders sold 137,993 shares of company stock worth $7,538,068 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Tractor Supply Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ TSCO opened at $55.13 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $29.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.02, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.85. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $55.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $55.64. Tractor Supply has a 12-month low of $48.30 and a 12-month high of $61.53. 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 (NASDAQ:TSCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty retailer reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analysts predict that Tractor Supply will post 2.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

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

Tractor Supply declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 13th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the specialty retailer to repurchase up to 3.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is 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.