KBC Group NV Cuts Stock Position in Tractor Supply Company $TSCO

Key Points

• KBC Group NV cut its stake by 42.1% in the fourth quarter, selling 34,347 shares and finishing the period with 47,200 Tractor Supply shares valued at about $2.36 million.
• Tractor Supply missed Q4 estimates (EPS $0.43 vs. $0.46 expected; revenue $3.90B vs. $4.03B expected), prompting analysts to lower price targets while the consensus remains a "Moderate Buy" with a $57.78 target.
• Significant insider selling has occurred—CEO sold 84,670 shares and CFO sold 1,884, with insiders disposing of 222,348 shares (~$11.96M) in the last 90 days—while the company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.24 (annualized $0.96, yield 2.1%).

KBC Group NV cut its holdings in Tractor Supply Company (NASDAQ:TSCO - Free Report) by 42.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 47,200 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 34,347 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV's holdings in Tractor Supply were worth $2,360,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Tractor Supply by 8.0% in the third quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,465 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $140,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Tractor Supply by 0.6% during the third quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 34,036 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,936,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Oak Thistle LLC boosted its stake in Tractor Supply by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 24,911 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,246,000 after buying an additional 215 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. boosted its stake in Tractor Supply by 5.1% during the third quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 4,514 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $257,000 after buying an additional 218 shares during the period. Finally, Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in Tractor Supply by 1.7% during the third quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 12,771 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $726,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the period. 98.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Tractor Supply Stock Down 0.4%

NASDAQ:TSCO opened at $44.81 on Tuesday. Tractor Supply Company has a twelve month low of $43.23 and a twelve month high of $63.99. The company has a market cap of $23.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.75. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $48.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $51.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The specialty retailer reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.03). Tractor Supply had a return on equity of 44.36% and a net margin of 7.06%.The business had revenue of $3.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.44 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Tractor Supply Company will post 2.18 EPS for the current year.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 24th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. This is a positive change from Tractor Supply's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 24th. Tractor Supply's dividend payout ratio is 46.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on TSCO shares. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Tractor Supply from $65.00 to $58.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Tractor Supply in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $47.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Tractor Supply from $60.00 to $57.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note 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. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Tractor Supply from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $57.78.

Insider Buying and Selling at Tractor Supply

In other news, CFO Kurt D. Barton sold 1,884 shares of Tractor Supply stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.81, for a total transaction of $101,378.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 52,562 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,828,361.22. This trade represents a 3.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Harry A. Lawton III sold 84,670 shares of Tractor Supply stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.16, for a total value of $4,501,057.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 606,842 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $32,259,720.72. This trade represents a 12.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 222,348 shares of company stock valued at $11,959,621. 0.64% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Tractor Supply

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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