Cetera Investment Advisers Buys 127,400 Shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO - Free Report) by 417.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 157,914 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after buying an additional 127,400 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in Tractor Supply were worth $8,379,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TSCO. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Tractor Supply by 418.5% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 46,140 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $2,446,000 after buying an additional 37,242 shares in the last quarter. First Hawaiian Bank purchased a new position in Tractor Supply during the 4th quarter valued at about $337,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its position in Tractor Supply by 392.3% during the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 640 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 510 shares during the period. Czech National Bank increased its position in Tractor Supply by 427.1% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 115,825 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $6,146,000 after purchasing an additional 93,851 shares during the period. Finally, Threadgill Financial LLC increased its position in Tractor Supply by 416.8% during the 4th quarter. Threadgill Financial LLC now owns 15,250 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $809,000 after purchasing an additional 12,299 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.72% of the company's stock.

Tractor Supply Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ TSCO opened at $51.31 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $27.28 billion, a PE ratio of 25.15, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.82. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $51.96 and a 200 day moving average of $54.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 1.43. Tractor Supply has a one year low of $46.85 and a one year high of $61.53.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $3.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.55 billion. Tractor Supply had a return on equity of 49.01% and a net margin of 7.40%. Tractor Supply's revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.83 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Tractor Supply will post 2.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Tractor Supply announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 13th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the specialty retailer to buy up to 3.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were issued a dividend of $0.92 per share. 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. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.17%. Tractor Supply's dividend payout ratio is presently 45.77%.

Insider Transactions at Tractor Supply

In other news, SVP Matthew L. Rubin sold 3,850 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.69, for a total transaction of $222,106.50. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 31,787 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,833,792.03. This represents a 10.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kurt D. Barton sold 12,146 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.00, for a total transaction of $680,176.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 47,715 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,672,040. The trade was a 20.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 40,598 shares of company stock valued at $2,234,481 over the last 90 days. 0.65% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TSCO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Tractor Supply from $44.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Telsey Advisory Group set a $60.00 target price on shares of Tractor Supply in a research note on Friday, April 25th. UBS Group set a $54.00 target price on shares of Tractor Supply in a research note on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Tractor Supply from $59.00 to $56.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Tractor Supply from $63.00 to $56.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Tractor Supply currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $58.02.

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.

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