Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Takes $1.40 Million Position in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 6,500 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,398,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. WCM Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Tractor Supply during the fourth quarter worth $782,000. LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 5,014 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc grew its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 2,120.1% during the fourth quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 121,817 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $26,194,000 after purchasing an additional 116,330 shares during the period. Simon Quick Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 21.1% during the third quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 1,551 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $315,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew 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 during the period. 98.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on TSCO. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Tractor Supply from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Tractor Supply from $210.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their target price on Tractor Supply from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Wedbush boosted their target price on Tractor Supply from $200.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Mizuho initiated coverage on Tractor Supply in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $245.00 target price for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Tractor Supply has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $241.65.

Tractor Supply Stock Performance

TSCO opened at $252.79 on Monday. Tractor Supply has a 52-week low of $185.00 and a 52-week high of $268.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.28 billion, a PE ratio of 25.05, a PEG ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 1.50. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $249.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $224.90.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The specialty retailer reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.06. Tractor Supply had a return on equity of 53.60% and a net margin of 7.61%. The business had revenue of $3.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.43 earnings per share. Tractor Supply’s revenue was down 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Tractor Supply will post 10.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were issued a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. This is a positive change from Tractor Supply’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. Tractor Supply’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Kurt D. Barton sold 4,335 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.00, for a total transaction of $1,114,095.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 20,678 shares in the company, valued at $5,314,246. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Tractor Supply news, EVP Jonathan S. Estep sold 7,120 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.26, for a total transaction of $1,653,691.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 13,605 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,159,897.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Kurt D. Barton sold 4,335 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.00, for a total value of $1,114,095.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 20,678 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,314,246. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 90,090 shares of company stock worth $21,201,877. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Tractor Supply Company 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.