HighPoint Advisor Group LLC Purchases 14,014 Shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC raised its position in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) by 483.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 16,911 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,014 shares during the quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Tractor Supply were worth $930,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co lifted its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 978 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $285,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Synergy Financial Group LTD raised its position in Tractor Supply by 12.4% in the third quarter. Synergy Financial Group LTD now owns 1,090 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $317,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 27,710 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $8,058,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC grew its position 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 valued at $135,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Motley Fool Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 15,855 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $4,679,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. 98.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Tractor Supply Stock Performance

NASDAQ:TSCO opened at $55.13 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $29.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.02, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.85. Tractor Supply has a 1 year low of $48.30 and a 1 year high of $61.53. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $55.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $55.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 0.20.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) last announced 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 anticipate that Tractor Supply will post 2.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Tractor Supply news, SVP Matthew L. Rubin sold 3,850 shares of Tractor Supply stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.69, for a total transaction of $222,106.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,833,792.03. The trade was a 10.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Melissa Kersey sold 9,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.17, for a total transaction of $494,481.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 34,961 shares in the company, valued at $1,858,876.37. This trade represents a 21.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 137,993 shares of company stock worth $7,538,068. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TSCO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 target price on shares of Tractor Supply in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Tractor Supply from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Loop Capital increased their target price on shares of Tractor Supply from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Tractor Supply from $262.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Tractor Supply from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.22.

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.