Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) CFO Kurt D. Barton Sells 12,146 Shares of Stock

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) CFO Kurt D. Barton sold 12,146 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 47,715 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,672,040. This trade represents a 20.29 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Tractor Supply Trading Up 0.3 %

TSCO stock opened at $57.14 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $30.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.01, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.84. Tractor Supply has a twelve month low of $46.76 and a twelve month high of $61.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The business has a fifty day moving average of $54.84 and a 200-day moving average of $55.30.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty retailer reported $0.44 earnings per share 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 expect that Tractor Supply will post 2.17 EPS for the current year.

Tractor Supply announced that its board has authorized 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 reacquire 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 company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be given a dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.44%. This is an increase from Tractor Supply’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Tractor Supply’s payout ratio is presently 43.14%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tractor Supply

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. West Paces Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 400.0% during the fourth quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. now owns 3,060 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $162,000 after purchasing an additional 2,448 shares during the period. Wahed Invest LLC grew its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 407.6% during the fourth quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 13,293 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $705,000 after purchasing an additional 10,674 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 420.9% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 78,539 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $4,167,000 after purchasing an additional 63,460 shares during the period. Cypress Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Tractor Supply during the fourth quarter worth $938,000. Finally, Bison Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 356.1% during the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 6,426 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $341,000 after purchasing an additional 5,017 shares during the period. 98.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on TSCO shares. Truist Financial cut their target price on Tractor Supply from $63.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Gordon Haskett downgraded Tractor Supply from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America raised their target price on Tractor Supply from $44.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Tractor Supply from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Tractor Supply from $54.40 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.22.

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.