Swiss National Bank Sells 79,700 Shares of Tractor Supply Company $TSCO

Swiss National Bank lowered its position in shares of Tractor Supply Company (NASDAQ:TSCO) by 5.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,528,400 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 79,700 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Tractor Supply were worth $86,920,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its stake in Tractor Supply by 8.7% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 60,626 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,448,000 after acquiring an additional 4,877 shares during the period. PFG Advisors acquired a new stake in Tractor Supply during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $243,000. Diversify Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Tractor Supply by 12.0% in the third quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,483 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $550,000 after buying an additional 1,121 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG boosted its holdings in shares of Tractor Supply by 4.4% in the third quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG now owns 61,540 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,500,000 after buying an additional 2,584 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Tractor Supply by 2.6% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 365,903 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $20,809,000 after acquiring an additional 9,441 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.72% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on TSCO shares. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Tractor Supply from $63.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $61.00 price objective (down from $66.00) on shares of Tractor Supply in a report on Friday, January 16th. Argus cut their target price on Tractor Supply from $67.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $59.00 price target on shares of Tractor Supply and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Tractor Supply in a report on Friday, January 30th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.78.

Tractor Supply Trading Down 0.7%

Tractor Supply stock opened at $50.34 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $52.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $54.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.32, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 1.34. Tractor Supply Company has a 52 week low of $46.85 and a 52 week high of $63.99.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The specialty retailer reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.03). Tractor Supply had a net margin of 7.06% and a return on equity of 44.36%. The business had revenue of $3.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.44 EPS. Tractor Supply’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Tractor Supply Company will post 2.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 24th were issued a $0.24 dividend. This is an increase from Tractor Supply’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 24th. Tractor Supply’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Jonathan S. Estep sold 59,745 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.03, for a total transaction of $3,228,022.35. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 80,931 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,372,701.93. This trade represents a 42.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Harry A. Lawton III sold 84,670 shares of Tractor Supply stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.16, for a total transaction of $4,501,057.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 606,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,259,720.72. The trade was a 12.24% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 222,348 shares of company stock valued at $11,959,621. 0.65% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Tractor Supply Profile

Tractor Supply Company (NASDAQ: TSCO) is a specialty retailer focused on products for the home, farm, ranch and outdoors. The company operates a network of physical retail locations complemented by an e-commerce platform, offering a one-stop source of supplies and equipment for customers with rural and suburban lifestyles. Its merchandise assortment targets a range of needs, from animal and livestock care to maintenance, outdoor power equipment, and seasonal products.

Product categories include animal feed and supplies, pet products, fencing and fencing supplies, equine equipment, lawn and garden tools, work clothing and footwear, and small agricultural and outdoor power equipment.