Quantbot Technologies LP Trims Holdings in Tractor Supply Company $TSCO

Key Points

• Quantbot Technologies LP trimmed its Tractor Supply stake by 69.5%, selling 67,955 shares in Q3 and retaining 29,888 shares valued at about $1.7 million.
• Company insiders have recently sold sizable positions — including CEO Harry Lawton III (84,670 shares, ~$4.50M) and EVP Jonathan Estep (59,745 shares, ~$3.23M) — with insiders offloading 222,348 shares (~$11.96M) in the last 90 days.
• Operationally, Tractor Supply missed Q4 estimates (EPS $0.43 vs. $0.46 consensus; revenue $3.90B vs. $4.03B), raised its quarterly dividend to $0.24, and carries a MarketBeat consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a $59.78 target.

Quantbot Technologies LP trimmed its holdings in Tractor Supply Company (NASDAQ:TSCO - Free Report) by 69.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 29,888 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 67,955 shares during the quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP's holdings in Tractor Supply were worth $1,700,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of TSCO. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Tractor Supply during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Tractor Supply in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Clayton Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Tractor Supply in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $44,000. First Horizon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Tractor Supply in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Evelyn Partners Asset Management Ltd bought a new position in Tractor Supply during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Institutional investors own 98.72% of the company's stock.

Tractor Supply Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:TSCO opened at $50.59 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 1.34. The firm has a market cap of $26.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.72. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $52.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.80. Tractor Supply Company has a fifty-two week low of $46.85 and a fifty-two week high of $63.99.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.44 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Tractor Supply Company will post 2.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 24th will be given a $0.24 dividend. This is a boost from Tractor Supply's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 24th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Tractor Supply's payout ratio is presently 46.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TSCO has been the topic of several analyst reports. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Tractor Supply from $55.00 to $53.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Tractor Supply from $63.00 to $60.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Gordon Haskett cut shares of Tractor Supply from an "accumulate" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $57.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Tractor Supply in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Tractor Supply from $67.00 to $59.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 30th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Tractor Supply presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $59.78.

Insider Buying and Selling at Tractor Supply

In related news, 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 606,842 shares of the company's stock, valued at $32,259,720.72. The trade was a 12.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Jonathan S. Estep sold 59,745 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.03, for a total value of $3,228,022.35. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 80,931 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,372,701.93. This trade represents a 42.47% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 222,348 shares of company stock worth $11,959,621. 0.65% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Tractor Supply 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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