Headlands Technologies LLC Invests $952,000 in Tractor Supply Company (NASDAQ:TSCO)

Key Points

• Headlands Technologies LLC invested approximately $952,000 in Tractor Supply Company, acquiring 17,282 shares during the 1st quarter.
• Several large investors, including Vanguard Group Inc. and Capital World Investors, have significantly increased their stakes in Tractor Supply Company, indicating strong institutional interest.
• Tractor Supply recently reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, slightly exceeding expectations, with a year-over-year revenue increase of 4.5%.

Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Tractor Supply Company (NASDAQ:TSCO - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 17,282 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $952,000.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of TSCO. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Tractor Supply by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 66,631,422 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $3,671,391,000 after acquiring an additional 2,597,450 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of Tractor Supply by 403.7% in 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 buying an additional 15,575,311 shares during the period. Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of Tractor Supply by 334.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,429,288 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $818,421,000 after buying an additional 11,880,010 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake 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 worth $552,735,000 after buying an additional 7,729,628 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake 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 worth $436,899,000 after buying an additional 6,582,562 shares during the period. 98.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Tractor Supply from $56.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Telsey Advisory Group set a $70.00 target price on shares of Tractor Supply in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Bank of America raised Tractor Supply from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $70.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Tractor Supply from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Tractor Supply from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Tractor Supply currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $61.80.

Insider Activity at Tractor Supply

In other Tractor Supply news, Director Denise L. Jackson sold 1,165 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.50, for a total transaction of $68,152.50. Following the sale, the director owned 31,123 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,820,695.50. The trade was a 3.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kurt D. Barton sold 90,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.96, for a total value of $5,756,400.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 47,715 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,051,851.40. This trade represents a 65.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 207,490 shares of company stock worth $12,216,998 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.65% of the company's stock.

Tractor Supply Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ TSCO opened at $60.02 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.45, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.75. The stock's fifty day moving average is $54.80 and its 200 day moving average is $53.69. Tractor Supply Company has a 52 week low of $46.85 and a 52 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.

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

Tractor Supply Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 25th will be paid a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Tractor Supply's payout ratio is currently 45.10%.

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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