Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Buys 57,961 Shares of Tractor Supply Company $TSCO

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Tractor Supply Company (NASDAQ:TSCO) by 5.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,057,385 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 57,961 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.20% of Tractor Supply worth $60,133,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Buckhead Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 310.3% in the 3rd quarter. Buckhead Capital Management LLC now owns 36,863 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,096,000 after purchasing an additional 27,878 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its holdings in Tractor Supply by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 130,035 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $6,862,000 after buying an additional 7,871 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in Tractor Supply by 45.2% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 149,323 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $7,880,000 after buying an additional 46,471 shares during the period. First National Bank of Omaha bought a new stake in Tractor Supply in the third quarter worth $5,069,000. Finally, Bison Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Tractor Supply by 356.1% during the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 6,426 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $341,000 after buying an additional 5,017 shares during the period. 98.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Tractor Supply Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ TSCO opened at $51.84 on Friday. Tractor Supply Company has a 52-week low of $46.85 and a 52-week high of $63.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.04, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.74. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $52.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $55.01. 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 (NASDAQ:TSCO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The specialty retailer reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by ($0.03). Tractor Supply had a net margin of 7.06% and a return on equity of 44.36%. The firm had revenue of $3.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.44 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Tractor Supply Company will post 2.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors 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 yield of 1.9%. This is a boost from Tractor Supply’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 24th. Tractor Supply’s payout ratio is currently 46.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TSCO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $57.00 target price on shares of Tractor Supply in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Stephens set a $53.00 price target on shares of Tractor Supply and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective 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. Mizuho cut their target price on Tractor Supply from $65.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Gordon Haskett downgraded Tractor Supply from an “accumulate” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $57.00 to $50.00 in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.78.

Insider Activity at Tractor Supply

In other news, EVP Robert D. Mills sold 62,950 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.12, for a total value of $3,406,854.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 122,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,647,776.08. This represents a 33.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Colin Yankee sold 11,170 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.35, for a total transaction of $618,259.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 45,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,519,255.25. This represents a 19.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 222,348 shares of company stock worth $11,959,621 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.65% of the company’s stock.

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.