B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Grows Position in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG boosted its stake in shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) by 360.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 61,233 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 47,945 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG’s holdings in Tractor Supply were worth $3,249,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Tractor Supply by 75.8% during the 3rd quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC now owns 464 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $135,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Tractor Supply by 286.2% in the fourth quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 475 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC increased its position in Tractor Supply by 400.0% in the fourth quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC now owns 500 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Archer Investment Corp raised its stake in Tractor Supply by 400.0% during the fourth quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 500 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PrairieView Partners LLC lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. 98.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TSCO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 target price on shares of Tractor Supply in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Tractor Supply from $63.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Mizuho boosted their target price on Tractor Supply from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Tractor Supply from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Tractor Supply from $44.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.22.

Tractor Supply Stock Performance

Shares of Tractor Supply stock opened at $55.13 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $55.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $55.64. The firm has a market cap of $29.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.85. Tractor Supply has a 12 month low of $48.30 and a 12 month high of $61.53.

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

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were given a dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. This is a boost from Tractor Supply’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Tractor Supply’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.10%.

Tractor Supply declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 13th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the specialty retailer to repurchase up to 3.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Tractor Supply news, CEO Harry A. Lawton III sold 88,095 shares of Tractor Supply stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.59, for a total value of $4,809,106.05. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 488,852 shares in the company, valued at $26,686,430.68. The trade was a 15.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Melissa Kersey sold 9,300 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 34,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,858,876.37. This represents a 21.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 137,993 shares of company stock worth $7,538,068. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.