M&G PLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Tractor Supply Company $TSCO

M&G PLC decreased its stake in shares of Tractor Supply Company (NASDAQ:TSCO) by 59.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 109,346 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 161,922 shares during the period. M&G PLC’s holdings in Tractor Supply were worth $6,233,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of Tractor Supply by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 29,752 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,692,000 after buying an additional 1,925 shares during the period. Atticus Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Tractor Supply by 4.0% in the third quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,893 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $335,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D increased its position in Tractor Supply by 1.7% during the third quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 181,592 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $10,327,000 after acquiring an additional 3,101 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Tractor Supply by 1.3% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 219,478 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $12,482,000 after acquiring an additional 2,800 shares during the period. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Tractor Supply by 9.2% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 289,610 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $16,470,000 after acquiring an additional 24,312 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.72% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on TSCO shares. Stephens set a $53.00 price target on shares of Tractor Supply and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Gordon Haskett lowered shares of Tractor Supply from an “accumulate” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $57.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $59.00 target price on shares of Tractor Supply and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Tractor Supply in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $57.00 price target on shares of Tractor Supply in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.78.

Tractor Supply Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:TSCO opened at $55.03 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.16. Tractor Supply Company has a 1-year low of $46.85 and a 1-year high of $63.99. The company has a market capitalization of $29.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.74. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $52.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $55.39.

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

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 24th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. This is a positive change from Tractor Supply’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 24th. Tractor Supply’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Robert D. Mills sold 62,950 shares of Tractor Supply stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.12, for a total transaction of $3,406,854.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 122,834 shares in the company, valued at $6,647,776.08. This trade represents a 33.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Harry A. Lawton III sold 84,670 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.16, for a total transaction of $4,501,057.20. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 211,178 shares of company stock worth $11,341,362. Company insiders own 0.65% of the company’s stock.

About Tractor Supply

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.