Alliancebernstein L.P. Decreases Stock Holdings in Tractor Supply Company $TSCO

Alliancebernstein L.P. trimmed its position in Tractor Supply Company (NASDAQ:TSCO) by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,124,496 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 789,110 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 2.48% of Tractor Supply worth $746,390,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bison Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Tractor Supply by 356.1% in the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 6,426 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $341,000 after purchasing an additional 5,017 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP boosted its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 40.7% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 45,132 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,487,000 after acquiring an additional 13,051 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Tractor Supply by 26.9% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 26,162 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,442,000 after acquiring an additional 5,542 shares during the period. Vise Technologies Inc. acquired a new stake in Tractor Supply in the second quarter valued at approximately $662,000. Finally, National Pension Service grew its stake in Tractor Supply by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 831,638 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $43,886,000 after acquiring an additional 6,055 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.72% of the company’s stock.

Tractor Supply Stock Performance

NASDAQ:TSCO opened at $47.24 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $24.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.72. Tractor Supply Company has a twelve month low of $46.85 and a twelve month high of $63.99. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $52.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $54.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). The business had revenue of $3.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. Tractor Supply had a net margin of 7.06% and a return on equity of 44.36%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.44 EPS. On average, sell-side 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 was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 24th were given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. This is a boost from Tractor Supply’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 24th. Tractor Supply’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on TSCO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Tractor Supply from $62.00 to $59.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Telsey Advisory Group lowered their price objective on Tractor Supply from $70.00 to $63.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Tractor Supply from $67.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Tractor Supply in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $59.00 target price on Tractor Supply and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.78.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Harry A. Lawton III sold 84,670 shares of Tractor Supply stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 606,842 shares in the company, valued at $32,259,720.72. The trade was a 12.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Colin Yankee sold 11,170 shares of the business’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 directly owned 45,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,519,255.25. The trade was a 19.71% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 222,348 shares of company stock worth $11,959,621. 0.65% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.