Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 341,246 Shares of Tractor Supply Company $TSCO

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lowered its holdings in shares of Tractor Supply Company (NASDAQ:TSCO) by 79.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 90,192 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 341,246 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Tractor Supply were worth $4,511,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Diversified Trust Co. raised its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 53.3% in the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 5,687 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $284,000 after buying an additional 1,978 shares in the last quarter. Westview Management dba Westview Investment Advisors bought a new stake in Tractor Supply in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,973,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Tractor Supply by 273.3% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 388,193 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $19,532,000 after acquiring an additional 284,210 shares during the period. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC acquired a new position in Tractor Supply in the fourth quarter worth about $201,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Tractor Supply by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 55,914 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,798,000 after purchasing an additional 3,127 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.72% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Colin Yankee sold 11,170 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.35, for a total transaction of $618,259.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 45,515 shares in the company, valued at $2,519,255.25. This represents a 19.71% decrease in their position. 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 84,670 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.16, for a total transaction of $4,501,057.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 606,842 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,259,720.72. This represents a 12.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 222,348 shares of company stock valued at $11,959,621 in the last 90 days. 0.65% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Gordon Haskett downgraded Tractor Supply from an “accumulate” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $57.00 to $50.00 in a report on Thursday, January 8th. TD Cowen cut their target price on Tractor Supply from $55.00 to $53.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Tractor Supply in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Mizuho lowered their price target on Tractor Supply from $65.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Tractor Supply from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Tractor Supply has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.78.

Tractor Supply Stock Performance

NASDAQ:TSCO opened at $44.87 on Monday. Tractor Supply Company has a 1 year low of $44.44 and a 1 year high of $63.99. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $51.31 and a 200-day moving average of $53.14. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $23.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.72.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The specialty retailer reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.44 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Tractor Supply Company will post 2.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 24th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 24th. This is a boost from Tractor Supply’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Tractor Supply’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.38%.

Tractor Supply Profile

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.