Franklin Resources Inc. Has $319.56 Million Stake in Tractor Supply Company $TSCO

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Tractor Supply Company (NASDAQ:TSCO) by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,619,107 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 174,641 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 1.06% of Tractor Supply worth $319,559,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of TSCO. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Tractor Supply during the second quarter worth $26,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. bought a new stake in Tractor Supply during the 2nd quarter worth $38,000. Clayton Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Tractor Supply in the 3rd quarter worth about $44,000. First Horizon Corp bought a new position in Tractor Supply in the third quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Evelyn Partners Asset Management Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Tractor Supply during the second quarter valued at about $46,000. Institutional investors own 98.72% of the company’s stock.

Tractor Supply Price Performance

TSCO stock opened at $49.47 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market cap of $26.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.90, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.72. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $52.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.41. Tractor Supply Company has a 12-month low of $46.85 and a 12-month high of $63.99.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The specialty retailer reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.03). Tractor Supply had a return on equity of 44.36% and a net margin of 7.06%.The business had revenue of $3.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.44 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 24th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This is a positive change from Tractor Supply’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 24th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Tractor Supply’s payout ratio is 46.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Robert D. Mills sold 62,950 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 122,834 shares in the company, valued at $6,647,776.08. The trade was a 33.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Jonathan S. Estep sold 59,745 shares of Tractor Supply stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 80,931 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,372,701.93. This trade represents a 42.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 222,348 shares of company stock worth $11,959,621 over the last ninety days. 0.65% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Tractor Supply from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Tractor Supply from $60.00 to $57.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Tractor Supply in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Tractor Supply from $67.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Tractor Supply from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Tractor Supply has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.78.

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.