Westview Management dba Westview Investment Advisors Acquires New Stake in Tractor Supply Company $TSCO

Key Points

• Westview Management bought a new stake of 59,445 shares (~$2.97M) in Tractor Supply during Q4, and several large institutions (Invesco, Norges Bank, Victory Capital, Select Equity, APG) materially increased positions — institutional investors now own about 98.72% of TSCO.
• Insider selling: Company insiders have sold 222,348 shares worth roughly $11.96M in the last three months (including EVP Colin Yankee and CFO Kurt Barton), leaving insiders with just 0.65% ownership.
• Operational and market signals: Tractor Supply missed recent quarterly EPS and revenue estimates, raised its quarterly dividend to $0.24 (annualized $0.96, yield 2.1%), and holds a consensus analyst rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $59.78.

Westview Management dba Westview Investment Advisors bought a new stake in Tractor Supply Company (NASDAQ:TSCO - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 59,445 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $2,973,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 123.4% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 15,079,313 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $795,735,000 after purchasing an additional 8,329,462 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Tractor Supply in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $274,959,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Tractor Supply by 719.1% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,508,661 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $256,408,000 after buying an additional 3,958,205 shares during the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Tractor Supply by 41.9% in the second quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 12,713,409 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $670,887,000 after buying an additional 3,753,414 shares during the last quarter. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. grew its position in Tractor Supply by 505.1% during the third quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 4,329,556 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $246,222,000 after buying an additional 3,614,097 shares during the period. 98.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Tractor Supply news, EVP Colin Yankee sold 11,170 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.35, for a total transaction of $618,259.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 45,515 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,519,255.25. This trade represents a 19.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kurt D. Barton sold 1,884 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.81, for a total value of $101,378.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 52,562 shares in the company, valued at $2,828,361.22. The trade was a 3.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 222,348 shares of company stock worth $11,959,621 in the last three months. 0.65% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Tractor Supply Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:TSCO opened at $45.77 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $24.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.72. Tractor Supply Company has a 1-year low of $45.45 and a 1-year high of $63.99. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $51.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $53.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.16.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The specialty retailer reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $3.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.03 billion. Tractor Supply had a return on equity of 44.36% and a net margin of 7.06%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.44 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Tractor Supply Company will post 2.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 24th were paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 24th. This is a boost from Tractor Supply's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Tractor Supply's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on TSCO shares. Stephens set a $53.00 target price on shares of Tractor Supply and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Tractor Supply from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Tractor Supply from $65.00 to $58.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Argus decreased their target price on Tractor Supply from $67.00 to $64.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, UBS Group set a $55.00 target price on Tractor Supply in a research 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $59.78.

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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