Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) Position Raised by Freedom Investment Management Inc.

Freedom Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO - Free Report) by 403.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,386 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after buying an additional 5,118 shares during the quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Tractor Supply were worth $339,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in TSCO. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its position in Tractor Supply by 385.8% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,089,542 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $59,260,000 after buying an additional 865,273 shares during the period. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. increased its stake in Tractor Supply by 330.2% in the 4th quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. now owns 21,355 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,133,000 after purchasing an additional 16,391 shares in the last quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Tractor Supply by 571.8% during the fourth quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC now owns 66,815 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $3,545,000 after purchasing an additional 56,870 shares during the last quarter. Heritage Trust Co purchased a new stake in Tractor Supply during the fourth quarter worth $1,829,000. Finally, Callan Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in Tractor Supply in the fourth quarter valued at $503,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.72% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on TSCO shares. Guggenheim decreased their price objective on shares of Tractor Supply from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Stephens began coverage on shares of Tractor Supply in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $56.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho cut their price objective on Tractor Supply from $62.00 to $58.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Citigroup lowered their target price on Tractor Supply from $59.00 to $51.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $67.00 price objective on shares of Tractor Supply in a research report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $58.62.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Matthew L. Rubin sold 3,850 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.69, for a total transaction of $222,106.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 31,787 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,833,792.03. This trade represents a 10.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Harry A. Lawton III sold 88,095 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.59, for a total value of $4,809,106.05. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 488,852 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $26,686,430.68. This represents a 15.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 137,993 shares of company stock worth $7,538,068 in the last quarter. 0.65% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Tractor Supply Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of TSCO traded up $0.92 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $49.92. The company had a trading volume of 6,948,963 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,114,770. Tractor Supply has a fifty-two week low of $46.85 and a fifty-two week high of $61.53. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $53.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.73. The stock has a market cap of $26.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The specialty retailer reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $3.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.55 billion. Tractor Supply had a net margin of 7.40% and a return on equity of 49.01%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Tractor Supply will post 2.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were given a $0.92 dividend. This is an increase from Tractor Supply's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.37%. Tractor Supply's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.77%.

Tractor Supply announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 13th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the specialty retailer to buy up to 3.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Tractor Supply Company 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.