Blair William & Co. IL Sells 85,335 Shares of Tractor Supply Company (NASDAQ:TSCO)

Key Points

• Blair William & Co. IL reduced its holdings in Tractor Supply Company by 30.8%, selling 85,335 shares in the first quarter, bringing their total shares to 192,045 with a valuation of $10.58 million.
• Institutional investors currently own 98.72% of Tractor Supply's stock, with several firms significantly increasing their positions during the last quarter.
• Tractor Supply recently reported a 4.5% year-over-year increase in revenue, posting $0.81 EPS, slightly above analyst expectations.

Blair William & Co. IL lowered its position in Tractor Supply Company (NASDAQ:TSCO - Free Report) by 30.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 192,045 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 85,335 shares during the quarter. Blair William & Co. IL's holdings in Tractor Supply were worth $10,582,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital World Investors boosted its position in Tractor Supply by 403.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 19,433,135 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,031,122,000 after acquiring an additional 15,575,311 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its position in Tractor Supply by 334.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,429,288 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $818,421,000 after acquiring an additional 11,880,010 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Tractor Supply by 287.6% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,417,152 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $552,735,000 after acquiring an additional 7,729,628 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Tractor Supply by 407.9% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,766,224 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $465,136,000 after acquiring an additional 7,040,165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp boosted its position in Tractor Supply by 398.6% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 8,233,999 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $436,899,000 after acquiring an additional 6,582,562 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.72% of the company's stock.

Tractor Supply Stock Performance

NASDAQ TSCO opened at $59.77 on Wednesday. Tractor Supply Company has a fifty-two week low of $46.85 and a fifty-two week high of $63.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 1.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.33, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.75. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $54.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $53.60.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The specialty retailer reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $4.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.40 billion. Tractor Supply had a return on equity of 46.83% and a net margin of 7.18%. Tractor Supply's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.93 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Tractor Supply Company will post 2.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Tractor Supply Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 28th were issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 28th. Tractor Supply's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.10%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Denise L. Jackson sold 1,165 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.50, for a total transaction of $68,152.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 31,123 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,820,695.50. This trade represents a 3.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jonathan S. Estep sold 35,825 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.00, for a total value of $2,006,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 74,605 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,177,880. This trade represents a 32.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 207,490 shares of company stock valued at $12,216,998 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.65% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on TSCO shares. Bank of America upgraded Tractor Supply from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Tractor Supply from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Guggenheim decreased their price objective on Tractor Supply from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Tractor Supply from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $65.00 price objective (up previously from $57.00) on shares of Tractor Supply in a report on Friday, July 25th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $61.80.

Tractor Supply Company Profile

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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