Caprock Group LLC Purchases Shares of 53,797 Tractor Supply Company $TSCO

Caprock Group LLC acquired a new position in Tractor Supply Company (NASDAQ:TSCO) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 53,797 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $3,336,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Tractor Supply by 123.4% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 15,079,313 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $795,735,000 after acquiring an additional 8,329,462 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Tractor Supply in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $274,959,000. Select Equity Group L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 41.9% in the 2nd quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 12,713,409 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $670,887,000 after purchasing an additional 3,753,414 shares in the last quarter. AXA S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Tractor Supply by 418.2% during the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 2,459,895 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $129,809,000 after purchasing an additional 1,985,168 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Soundwatch Capital LLC purchased a new position in Tractor Supply in the 2nd quarter worth $81,025,000. 98.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Tractor Supply Stock Performance

Shares of Tractor Supply stock opened at $54.53 on Thursday. Tractor Supply Company has a 12 month low of $46.85 and a 12 month high of $63.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $52.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.47.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The specialty retailer reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.03). Tractor Supply had a return on equity of 44.36% and a net margin of 7.06%.The business had revenue of $3.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.44 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Tractor Supply Company will post 2.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 24th will be given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 24th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. This is an increase from Tractor Supply’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Tractor Supply’s payout ratio is presently 44.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on TSCO. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of Tractor Supply in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Tractor Supply from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Argus lowered their price objective on shares of Tractor Supply from $67.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Telsey Advisory Group dropped their target price on shares of Tractor Supply from $70.00 to $63.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Tractor Supply in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.78.

Insider Activity at Tractor Supply

In other news, CFO Kurt D. Barton sold 1,929 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.94, for a total value of $104,050.26. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 44,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,413,059.84. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Harry A. Lawton III sold 84,670 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.16, for a total value of $4,501,057.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 606,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,259,720.72. The trade was a 12.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.65% of the company’s stock.

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.