Flputnam Investment Management Co. Decreases Stake in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

Flputnam Investment Management Co. lowered its position in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) by 28.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,375 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 9,113 shares during the quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Tractor Supply were worth $4,811,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TSCO. Synovus Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Tractor Supply by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 5,006 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,166,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. increased its stake in Tractor Supply by 10.4% in the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 12,622 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,946,000 after buying an additional 1,186 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in Tractor Supply by 12.1% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 75,163 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $17,565,000 after buying an additional 8,129 shares during the period. Prudential PLC acquired a new position in Tractor Supply in the 1st quarter valued at $611,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in Tractor Supply by 15.8% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 6,238 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,456,000 after buying an additional 849 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.72% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Colin Yankee sold 8,675 shares of Tractor Supply stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $2,168,750.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,673 shares in the company, valued at $2,418,250. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Tractor Supply news, CFO Kurt D. Barton sold 4,335 shares of Tractor Supply stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.00, for a total transaction of $1,114,095.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 20,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,314,246. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Colin Yankee sold 8,675 shares of Tractor Supply stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $2,168,750.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,418,250. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 90,090 shares of company stock worth $21,201,877. 0.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Tractor Supply Stock Performance

NASDAQ:TSCO traded up $3.25 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $245.22. 101,168 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,141,041. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 1.50. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $248.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $223.66. Tractor Supply has a fifty-two week low of $185.00 and a fifty-two week high of $268.02.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The specialty retailer reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $3.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.67 billion. Tractor Supply had a return on equity of 53.60% and a net margin of 7.61%. Tractor Supply’s revenue was down 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.43 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Tractor Supply will post 10.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were issued a dividend of $1.10 per share. This is a positive change from Tractor Supply’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. Tractor Supply’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TSCO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wedbush increased their price target on shares of Tractor Supply from $200.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of Tractor Supply from $210.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $256.00 price target on shares of Tractor Supply in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Raymond James downgraded shares of Tractor Supply from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $230.00 to $250.00 in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Tractor Supply from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $239.83.

Tractor Supply Company 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.