Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Buys 135,471 Shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its stake in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) by 645.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 156,454 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 135,471 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. owned 0.14% of Tractor Supply worth $33,642,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of TSCO. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Tractor Supply in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. bought a new position in shares of Tractor Supply in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in Tractor Supply by 105.6% during the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 148 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Tractor Supply in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Cetera Trust Company N.A bought a new position in Tractor Supply in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 98.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Tractor Supply Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of Tractor Supply stock traded down $4.47 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $266.70. 1,269,388 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,173,694. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.19 and a current ratio of 1.40. The company has a market cap of $28.78 billion, a PE ratio of 25.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.82. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $254.72 and a 200-day moving average of $228.28. Tractor Supply has a 12 month low of $185.00 and a 12 month high of $279.38.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The specialty retailer reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.13. Tractor Supply had a return on equity of 52.99% and a net margin of 7.66%. The business had revenue of $3.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.65 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Tractor Supply will post 10.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were given a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.65%. This is a boost from Tractor Supply’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. Tractor Supply’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.84%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Kurt D. Barton sold 401 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.06, for a total transaction of $93,056.06. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 25,013 shares in the company, valued at $5,804,516.78. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Tractor Supply news, EVP Jonathan S. Estep sold 7,120 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.26, for a total transaction of $1,653,691.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 13,605 shares in the company, valued at $3,159,897.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kurt D. Barton sold 401 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.06, for a total transaction of $93,056.06. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 25,013 shares in the company, valued at $5,804,516.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 90,090 shares of company stock valued at $21,201,877. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Tractor Supply from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Tractor Supply from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Tractor Supply from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $235.00 price objective on shares of Tractor Supply in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Tractor Supply from $234.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $251.25.

Tractor Supply 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.