Nuveen LLC Takes $70.89 Million Position in Tractor Supply Company (NASDAQ:TSCO)

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC has acquired 1,286,571 shares of Tractor Supply Company, valued at approximately $70.9 million, representing a 0.24% ownership stake.
• Several institutional investors significantly increased their positions in TSCO during the fourth quarter, with Capital World Investors growing its stake by 403.7%, now holding 19.4 million shares valued at over $1 billion.
• Tractor Supply reported quarterly earnings of $0.81 EPS, exceeding analysts' expectations, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.23, reflecting a 1.5% yield.

Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Tractor Supply Company (NASDAQ:TSCO - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,286,571 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $70,890,000. Nuveen LLC owned approximately 0.24% of Tractor Supply as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Tractor Supply by 4.1% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 66,631,422 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $3,671,391,000 after purchasing an additional 2,597,450 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its stake in Tractor Supply by 403.7% in the fourth 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 during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of Tractor Supply by 334.7% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Tractor Supply by 287.6% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,417,152 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $552,735,000 after purchasing an additional 7,729,628 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp boosted its position in Tractor Supply by 398.6% in the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 8,233,999 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $436,899,000 after purchasing an additional 6,582,562 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.72% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Tractor Supply

In related news, EVP Colin Yankee sold 6,680 shares of Tractor Supply stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.40, for a total value of $390,112.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 40,142 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,344,292.80. This trade represents a 14.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kurt D. Barton sold 90,000 shares of Tractor Supply stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.96, for a total value of $5,756,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 47,715 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,051,851.40. This represents a 65.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 204,680 shares of company stock valued at $12,071,552. 0.65% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on TSCO. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Tractor Supply from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Loop Capital increased their target price on Tractor Supply from $48.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Tractor Supply from $59.00 to $51.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $65.00 target price (up previously from $57.00) on shares of Tractor Supply in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Tractor Supply from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $61.80.

Tractor Supply Stock Performance

Tractor Supply stock traded up $0.80 during trading on Friday, reaching $60.49. The company had a trading volume of 3,901,483 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,670,729. Tractor Supply Company has a 52 week low of $46.85 and a 52 week high of $63.99. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $56.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The business had revenue of $4.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.40 billion. Tractor Supply had a return on equity of 46.83% and a net margin of 7.18%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $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 Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 25th will be issued a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 25th. Tractor Supply's payout ratio is 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.