Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Sells 337,428 Shares of Tractor Supply Company $TSCO

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors trimmed its stake in Tractor Supply by 6.0%, selling 337,428 shares and leaving it with 5,294,288 shares (about 1.00% of the company) valued at roughly $301.1 million.
• Insider selling has been notable recently: the CFO and an EVP sold shares (total insider sales of 222,348 shares worth about $11.96 million over the last quarter), leaving company insiders with 0.65% ownership.
• Tractor Supply missed quarterly EPS and revenue estimates (EPS $0.43 vs. $0.46; revenue $3.90B vs. $4.03B), raised its quarterly dividend to $0.24, and sits with a MarketBeat consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a $59.78 price target.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP trimmed its position in Tractor Supply Company (NASDAQ:TSCO - Free Report) by 6.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,294,288 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 337,428 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 1.00% of Tractor Supply worth $301,077,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TSCO. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Tractor Supply in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Tractor Supply during the 2nd quarter worth $38,000. Clayton Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Tractor Supply during the 3rd quarter worth $44,000. First Horizon Corp acquired a new stake in Tractor Supply in the third quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Evelyn Partners Asset Management Ltd acquired a new stake in Tractor Supply in the second quarter valued at about $46,000. 98.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Tractor Supply news, CFO Kurt D. Barton sold 1,929 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.94, for a total transaction of $104,050.26. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 44,736 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,413,059.84. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Robert D. Mills sold 62,950 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.12, for a total value of $3,406,854.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 122,834 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,647,776.08. The trade was a 33.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 222,348 shares of company stock valued at $11,959,621 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.65% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TSCO has been the subject of a number of research reports. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Tractor Supply from $55.00 to $53.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Tractor Supply from $62.00 to $59.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Tractor Supply from $63.00 to $60.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Telsey Advisory Group cut their target price on shares of Tractor Supply from $70.00 to $63.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Tractor Supply in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Tractor Supply currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $59.78.

Tractor Supply Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of TSCO stock opened at $50.16 on Friday. Tractor Supply Company has a 1-year low of $46.85 and a 1-year high of $63.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market cap of $26.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.23, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.72. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $52.35 and a 200-day moving average of $54.69.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The specialty retailer reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by ($0.03). Tractor Supply had a return on equity of 44.36% and a net margin of 7.06%.The company had revenue of $3.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.44 earnings per share. Tractor Supply's revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Tractor Supply Company will post 2.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 24th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 24th. This is a positive change from Tractor Supply's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Tractor Supply's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.38%.

Tractor Supply Company 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.

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