First Trust Advisors LP Has $43.38 Million Stock Position in Tractor Supply Company $TSCO

First Trust Advisors LP cut its holdings in shares of Tractor Supply Company (NASDAQ:TSCO) by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 762,803 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 77,422 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.14% of Tractor Supply worth $43,381,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bison Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Tractor Supply by 356.1% in the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 6,426 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $341,000 after buying an additional 5,017 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP grew its position in Tractor Supply by 40.7% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 45,132 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,487,000 after acquiring an additional 13,051 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Tractor Supply by 26.9% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 26,162 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,442,000 after acquiring an additional 5,542 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in Tractor Supply by 16.3% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 108,400 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $5,720,000 after acquiring an additional 15,184 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of Tractor Supply by 622.6% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 45,398 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,396,000 after acquiring an additional 39,115 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.72% of the company’s stock.

Tractor Supply Trading Down 2.8%

TSCO opened at $48.10 on Friday. Tractor Supply Company has a twelve month low of $46.85 and a twelve month high of $63.99. The company has a fifty day moving average of $52.30 and a 200-day moving average of $54.36. The stock has a market cap of $25.32 billion, a PE ratio of 23.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) last released its 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 net margin of 7.06% and a return on equity of 44.36%. The firm had revenue of $3.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.44 EPS. Tractor Supply’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Tractor Supply Company will post 2.17 EPS for the current year.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 24th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 24th. This is a positive change from Tractor Supply’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Tractor Supply’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.38%.

Insider Activity at Tractor Supply

In related news, CFO Kurt D. Barton sold 1,884 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.81, for a total transaction of $101,378.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 52,562 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,828,361.22. This trade represents a 3.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Colin Yankee sold 11,170 shares of Tractor Supply stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.35, for a total value of $618,259.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 45,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,519,255.25. The trade was a 19.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 222,348 shares of company stock worth $11,959,621 over the last quarter. 0.65% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on TSCO. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Tractor Supply from $60.00 to $57.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Tractor Supply in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and issued a $61.00 target price (down from $66.00) on shares of Tractor Supply in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Argus decreased their target price on shares of Tractor Supply from $67.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Tractor Supply from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.78.

Tractor Supply Company 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.