Suncoast Equity Management Cuts Position in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

Suncoast Equity Management lowered its position in shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 79,761 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 3,565 shares during the quarter. Tractor Supply comprises approximately 2.3% of Suncoast Equity Management’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Suncoast Equity Management owned approximately 0.07% of Tractor Supply worth $17,151,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of TSCO. LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in Tractor Supply by 4.6% during the third quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 113,873 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $23,122,000 after buying an additional 5,014 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Tractor Supply in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its holdings in Tractor Supply by 2,120.1% in the 4th quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 121,817 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $26,194,000 after purchasing an additional 116,330 shares in the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC raised its position in Tractor Supply by 21.1% in the third quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 1,551 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $315,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 32,987.5% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 270,325 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $58,128,000 after purchasing an additional 269,508 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.72% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Tractor Supply news, CFO Kurt D. Barton sold 4,335 shares of Tractor Supply stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.00, for a total value of $1,114,095.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 20,678 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,314,246. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, SVP Matthew L. Rubin sold 725 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.09, for a total value of $172,615.25. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,359,493.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Kurt D. Barton sold 4,335 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.00, for a total value of $1,114,095.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 20,678 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,314,246. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 90,090 shares of company stock valued at $21,201,877 in the last quarter. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on TSCO shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Tractor Supply from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $195.00 price objective on shares of Tractor Supply in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Raymond James cut shares of Tractor Supply from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $230.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price target on Tractor Supply from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $256.00 price objective on shares of Tractor Supply in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Tractor Supply presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $239.61.

Tractor Supply Stock Up 1.5 %

TSCO stock traded up $3.66 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $245.63. 315,866 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,144,184. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 1.50. Tractor Supply has a 1-year low of $185.00 and a 1-year high of $268.02. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $248.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $223.66. The firm has a market cap of $26.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 0.84.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The specialty retailer reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.06. Tractor Supply had a net margin of 7.61% and a return on equity of 53.60%. The business had revenue of $3.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.67 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.43 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Tractor Supply will post 10.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a $1.10 dividend. This is a boost from Tractor Supply’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.79%. Tractor Supply’s payout ratio is presently 43.61%.

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.