Handelsbanken Fonder AB Increases Stock Holdings in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its holdings in shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) by 3.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 120,569 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,804 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Tractor Supply were worth $6,643,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of Tractor Supply by 944.4% during the 4th quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 470 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 425 shares during the period. Smithfield Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 286.2% in the 4th quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 475 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares during the period. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Tractor Supply in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. PrairieView Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 400.0% in the 4th quarter. PrairieView Partners LLC now owns 500 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Finally, First Command Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 400.0% in the 4th quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 500 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.72% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on TSCO. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Tractor Supply from $59.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Tractor Supply from $59.00 to $56.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. UBS Group set a $54.00 price objective on shares of Tractor Supply in a report on Friday, April 25th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Tractor Supply from $62.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Guggenheim dropped their price objective on shares of Tractor Supply from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.02.

Insider Buying and Selling at Tractor Supply

In other news, SVP Matthew L. Rubin sold 2,810 shares of Tractor Supply stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.76, for a total transaction of $145,445.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 29,722 shares in the company, valued at $1,538,410.72. The trade was a 8.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.65% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Tractor Supply Stock Up 0.8%

TSCO stock opened at $51.74 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $50.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.39. Tractor Supply has a 12 month low of $46.85 and a 12 month high of $61.53. The company has a market cap of $27.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.74. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The specialty retailer reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.03). Tractor Supply had a return on equity of 49.01% and a net margin of 7.40%. The company had revenue of $3.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.55 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.83 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Tractor Supply will post 2.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Tractor Supply Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 28th were issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 28th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. Tractor Supply’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.77%.

Tractor Supply announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 13th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the specialty retailer to purchase up to 3.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.