Guggenheim Capital LLC Has $617,000 Holdings in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

Guggenheim Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO - Free Report) by 381.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,632 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 9,216 shares during the period. Guggenheim Capital LLC's holdings in Tractor Supply were worth $617,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of TSCO. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Tractor Supply by 392.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 64,033,972 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $3,397,643,000 after buying an additional 51,031,178 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Tractor Supply by 401.8% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 23,789,249 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,262,258,000 after acquiring an additional 19,048,385 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in Tractor Supply by 403.3% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 22,256,534 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,180,932,000 after purchasing an additional 17,834,643 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Tractor Supply by 403.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,519,937 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $768,838,000 after acquiring an additional 11,634,249 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Tractor Supply by 391.0% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,821,654 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $574,197,000 after purchasing an additional 8,617,869 shares during the period. 98.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Tractor Supply

In other news, CEO Harry A. Lawton III sold 88,095 shares of Tractor Supply stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 488,852 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,686,430.68. This trade represents a 15.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Matthew L. Rubin sold 3,850 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.69, for a total value of $222,106.50. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,787 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,833,792.03. This represents a 10.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 137,993 shares of company stock valued at $7,538,068. 0.65% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Tractor Supply Stock Performance

NASDAQ TSCO traded up $0.53 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $50.40. The company had a trading volume of 7,042,189 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,120,775. Tractor Supply has a fifty-two week low of $46.85 and a fifty-two week high of $61.53. The firm has a market cap of $26.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $52.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.62.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 analyst estimates of $3.55 billion. Tractor Supply had a net margin of 7.40% and a return on equity of 49.01%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.83 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Tractor Supply will post 2.17 EPS for the current year.

Tractor Supply announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock 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 reacquire up to 3.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were given a $0.92 dividend. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.30%. This is an increase from Tractor Supply's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. Tractor Supply's dividend payout ratio is 45.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the company. Bank of America upped their price objective on Tractor Supply from $44.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. UBS Group set a $54.00 target price on Tractor Supply in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Mizuho dropped their price target on Tractor Supply from $62.00 to $58.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Tractor Supply from $59.00 to $51.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Raymond James lowered their price target on Tractor Supply from $61.00 to $57.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Tractor Supply presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $58.02.

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.