LPL Financial LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Tractor Supply Company (NASDAQ:TSCO)

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC has increased its holdings in Tractor Supply Company by 21.0%, acquiring an additional 204,147 shares during the 1st quarter, now totaling 1,177,670 shares.
• Tractor Supply reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.81, surpassing analyst expectations of $0.80, with revenues totaling $4.44 billion for the quarter.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.23, yielding 1.59% annually, despite a payout ratio of 45.10%.

LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in Tractor Supply Company (NASDAQ:TSCO - Free Report) by 21.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,177,670 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 204,147 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned 0.22% of Tractor Supply worth $64,890,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of TSCO. Capital World Investors increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 15,575,311 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its stake 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 worth $818,421,000 after acquiring an additional 11,880,010 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 403.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,519,937 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $768,838,000 after acquiring an additional 11,634,249 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 287.6% in 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 acquiring an additional 7,729,628 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 407.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,766,224 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $465,136,000 after acquiring an additional 7,040,165 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.72% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Jonathan S. Estep sold 35,825 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.00, for a total transaction of $2,006,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 74,605 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,177,880. This represents a 32.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Denise L. Jackson sold 1,165 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.50, for a total value of $68,152.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 31,123 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,820,695.50. This trade represents a 3.61% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 207,490 shares of company stock valued at $12,216,998. Corporate insiders own 0.65% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on TSCO shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Tractor Supply from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Tractor Supply from $62.00 to $58.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Bank of America raised shares of Tractor Supply from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $70.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Guggenheim cut their price target on shares of Tractor Supply from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Tractor Supply from $54.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $61.80.

Tractor Supply Price Performance

Shares of TSCO stock traded up $0.68 during trading on Friday, hitting $57.63. The company had a trading volume of 5,505,274 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,097,455. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock's 50-day moving average is $53.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.75. Tractor Supply Company has a 52 week low of $46.85 and a 52 week high of $63.99.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The specialty retailer reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.01. Tractor Supply had a net margin of 7.18% and a return on equity of 46.83%. The business had revenue of $4.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.40 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.93 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Tractor Supply Company will post 2.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Tractor Supply Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 28th were paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 28th. Tractor Supply's dividend payout ratio is 45.10%.

Tractor Supply 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.