Voya Investment Management LLC Buys 738,481 Shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO - Free Report) by 307.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 978,742 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 738,481 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC owned about 0.18% of Tractor Supply worth $51,932,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Tractor Supply by 392.5% during 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 purchasing an additional 51,031,178 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 401.8% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 23,789,249 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,262,258,000 after buying an additional 19,048,385 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Tractor Supply by 403.3% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 22,256,534 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,180,932,000 after buying an additional 17,834,643 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in Tractor Supply by 403.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 19,433,135 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,031,122,000 after acquiring an additional 15,575,311 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors lifted its position in Tractor Supply by 334.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,429,288 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $818,421,000 after acquiring an additional 11,880,010 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.72% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Tractor Supply

In related news, EVP Melissa Kersey sold 9,300 shares of Tractor Supply stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.17, for a total transaction of $494,481.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 34,961 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,858,876.37. This trade represents a 21.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Harry A. Lawton III sold 88,095 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.59, for a total transaction of $4,809,106.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 488,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,686,430.68. The trade was a 15.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 137,993 shares of company stock worth $7,538,068 over the last ninety days. 0.65% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on TSCO shares. Telsey Advisory Group set a $60.00 target price on Tractor Supply in a research note on Friday. Raymond James reduced their target price on shares of Tractor Supply from $61.00 to $57.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Tractor Supply from $44.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Stephens began coverage on shares of Tractor Supply in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $56.00 target price on the stock. Finally, UBS Group set a $54.00 price target on Tractor Supply in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $58.02.

Tractor Supply Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of Tractor Supply stock traded up $0.51 on Wednesday, hitting $50.38. The stock had a trading volume of 7,678,120 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,124,180. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $52.70 and a 200 day moving average of $54.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 1.43. Tractor Supply has a twelve month low of $46.85 and a twelve month high of $61.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.70, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.88.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.03). Tractor Supply had a net margin of 7.40% and a return on equity of 49.01%. The business had revenue of $3.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.83 EPS. Tractor Supply's revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Tractor Supply will post 2.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Tractor Supply announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, February 13th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding 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 often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a $0.92 dividend. This is a boost 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 dividend yield of 7.30%. Tractor Supply's dividend payout ratio is presently 45.77%.

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.