Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Has $11.07 Million Holdings in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS cut its stake in shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) by 33.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 51,499 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 25,649 shares during the period. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS’s holdings in Tractor Supply were worth $11,074,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on TSCO. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their target price on Tractor Supply from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $195.00 price target on shares of Tractor Supply in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Tractor Supply from $210.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Tractor Supply from $256.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Stephens lowered Tractor Supply from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $226.00 to $240.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $241.65.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Kurt D. Barton sold 4,335 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.00, for a total value of $1,114,095.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 20,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,314,246. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Harry A. Lawton III sold 20,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.93, for a total transaction of $4,775,065.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 95,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,173,072.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Kurt D. Barton sold 4,335 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.00, for a total value of $1,114,095.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 20,678 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,314,246. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 90,090 shares of company stock valued at $21,201,877. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Tractor Supply Stock Performance

NASDAQ TSCO traded up $5.44 during trading on Friday, reaching $252.79. 1,284,772 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 888,746. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $249.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $224.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.05, a PEG ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 0.28. 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 earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The specialty retailer reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.06. Tractor Supply had a return on equity of 53.60% and a net margin of 7.61%. The company had revenue of $3.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.43 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Tractor Supply will post 10.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were given a $1.10 dividend. This is an increase from Tractor Supply’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.74%. Tractor Supply’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.61%.

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.