Ameriprise Financial Inc. Purchases 1,327,652 Shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO - Free Report) by 331.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,728,661 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 1,327,652 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned about 0.32% of Tractor Supply worth $91,723,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smithfield Trust Co increased its holdings in Tractor Supply by 286.2% in the fourth quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 475 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC increased its holdings in Tractor Supply by 944.4% in the fourth quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 470 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 425 shares in the last quarter. PrairieView Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Tractor Supply by 400.0% during the fourth quarter. PrairieView Partners LLC now owns 500 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC increased its holdings in shares of Tractor Supply by 400.0% during the fourth quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC now owns 500 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Archer Investment Corp increased its holdings in shares of Tractor Supply by 400.0% during the fourth quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 500 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. 98.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on TSCO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on 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 Tractor Supply in a report on Friday, April 25th. Telsey Advisory Group set a $60.00 price objective on Tractor Supply in a report on Friday, April 25th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Tractor Supply from $62.00 to $58.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Tractor Supply from $63.00 to $56.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $58.02.

Tractor Supply Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ TSCO traded up $1.42 during trading on Monday, reaching $52.72. 6,582,064 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,135,922. Tractor Supply has a 52-week low of $46.85 and a 52-week high of $61.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 0.20. The company has a 50-day moving average of $51.96 and a 200-day moving average of $54.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.82.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The specialty retailer reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.03). Tractor Supply had a net margin of 7.40% and a return on equity of 49.01%. The firm had revenue of $3.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.55 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.83 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Tractor Supply will post 2.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.98%. This is a positive change from Tractor Supply's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. Tractor Supply's payout ratio is presently 45.77%.

Tractor Supply declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 13th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the specialty retailer to purchase up to 3.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Tractor Supply

In other Tractor Supply news, SVP Matthew L. Rubin sold 3,850 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.69, for a total value of $222,106.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,787 shares in the company, valued at $1,833,792.03. This represents a 10.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Colin Yankee sold 24,602 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.15, for a total value of $1,332,198.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 33,645 shares in the company, valued at $1,821,876.75. This represents a 42.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 40,598 shares of company stock worth $2,234,481. 0.65% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.