Virtus ETF Advisers LLC Takes $1.13 Million Position in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

Virtus ETF Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 21,315 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,131,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smithfield Trust Co increased its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 286.2% in the fourth quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 475 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC raised its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 944.4% in the fourth quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 470 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 425 shares during the last quarter. PrairieView Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Tractor Supply by 400.0% during the fourth quarter. PrairieView Partners LLC now owns 500 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC grew its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 400.0% during the fourth quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC now owns 500 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Archer Investment Corp increased its holdings in shares of Tractor Supply by 400.0% in the fourth quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 500 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. 98.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on TSCO. Bank of America increased their price objective on Tractor Supply from $44.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Tractor Supply from $59.00 to $51.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Tractor Supply from $59.00 to $56.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Tractor Supply from $63.00 to $56.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group set a $60.00 target price on shares of Tractor Supply in a report on Friday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $58.02.

Insider Transactions at Tractor Supply

In other news, CFO Kurt D. Barton sold 12,146 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.00, for a total transaction of $680,176.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 47,715 shares in the company, valued at $2,672,040. This represents a 20.29 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Matthew L. Rubin sold 3,850 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 10.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 137,993 shares of company stock worth $7,538,068 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.65% of the company's stock.

Tractor Supply Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of TSCO stock traded up $0.75 on Wednesday, hitting $50.62. 10,109,591 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,788,483. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.88. Tractor Supply has a fifty-two week low of $48.46 and a fifty-two week high of $50.85. The business has a 50-day moving average of $52.70 and a 200 day moving average of $54.62.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The specialty retailer reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.03). Tractor Supply had a return on equity of 49.01% and a net margin of 7.40%. The firm had revenue of $3.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.55 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.83 EPS. The company's revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Tractor Supply will post 2.17 EPS for the current year.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a $0.92 dividend. This is a positive change from Tractor Supply's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. Tractor Supply's payout ratio is presently 45.77%.

Tractor Supply declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 13th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the specialty retailer to buy up to 3.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.