Merit Financial Group LLC Decreases Stake in Tractor Supply Company $TSCO

Merit Financial Group LLC cut its stake in Tractor Supply Company (NASDAQ:TSCO) by 59.0% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 41,284 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 59,493 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Tractor Supply were worth $1,305,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of TSCO. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Tractor Supply in the third quarter worth $28,000. Garner Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Tractor Supply during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Reflection Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Tractor Supply during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Core Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Tractor Supply during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Bayban acquired a new position in shares of Tractor Supply in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.72% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their target price on Tractor Supply from $58.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Weiss Ratings downgraded Tractor Supply from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. UBS Group set a $33.00 price objective on Tractor Supply and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Zacks Research cut Tractor Supply from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $38.00 price objective (down from $43.00) on shares of Tractor Supply in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $39.31.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Edna Morris acquired 1,560 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $32.44 per share, with a total value of $50,606.40. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 279,720 shares in the company, valued at $9,074,116.80. This represents a 0.56% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Andre J. Hawaux bought 3,150 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $31.83 per share, for a total transaction of $100,264.50. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 3,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $100,264.50. The trade was a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders purchased a total of 20,310 shares of company stock valued at $652,411 in the last quarter. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Tractor Supply Stock Up 3.2%

NASDAQ:TSCO opened at $36.43 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $31.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.50. Tractor Supply Company has a 1-year low of $28.36 and a 1-year high of $62.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.97, a PEG ratio of 11.48 and a beta of 0.47.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The specialty retailer reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by ($0.01). Tractor Supply had a net margin of 6.42% and a return on equity of 41.74%. The business had revenue of $4.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.81 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Tractor Supply has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.900-2.000 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Tractor Supply Company will post 1.93 EPS for the current year.

Tractor Supply Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 24th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Tractor Supply’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.00%.

About Tractor Supply

Tractor Supply Company (NASDAQ: TSCO) is a specialty retailer focused on products for the home, farm, ranch and outdoors. The company operates a network of physical retail locations complemented by an e-commerce platform, offering a one-stop source of supplies and equipment for customers with rural and suburban lifestyles. Its merchandise assortment targets a range of needs, from animal and livestock care to maintenance, outdoor power equipment, and seasonal products.

Product categories include animal feed and supplies, pet products, fencing and fencing supplies, equine equipment, lawn and garden tools, work clothing and footwear, and small agricultural and outdoor power equipment.