National Bank of Canada FI Has $9.26 Million Holdings in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) by 253.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 174,379 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 124,975 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in Tractor Supply were worth $9,255,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 392.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 64,033,972 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,397,643,000 after purchasing an additional 51,031,178 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Tractor Supply by 401.8% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 23,789,249 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,262,258,000 after buying an additional 19,048,385 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in Tractor Supply by 403.3% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 22,256,534 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,180,932,000 after buying an additional 17,834,643 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Tractor Supply by 391.0% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,821,654 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $574,197,000 after buying an additional 8,617,869 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Tractor Supply in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $329,458,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.72% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Tractor Supply

In other news, EVP Colin Yankee sold 24,602 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.15, for a total transaction of $1,332,198.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,821,876.75. This represents a 42.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matthew L. Rubin sold 3,850 shares of Tractor Supply stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.69, for a total value of $222,106.50. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,787 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,833,792.03. This represents a 10.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 137,993 shares of company stock valued at $7,538,068 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Tractor Supply in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Tractor Supply from $63.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Tractor Supply from $44.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Tractor Supply from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Tractor Supply from $262.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Tractor Supply currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.22.

Tractor Supply Price Performance

TSCO opened at $52.40 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $27.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.88. Tractor Supply has a 12 month low of $48.30 and a 12 month high of $61.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $54.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $55.61.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty retailer reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.28 by ($1.84). Tractor Supply had a return on equity of 49.01% and a net margin of 7.40%. On average, research analysts expect that Tractor Supply will post 2.17 EPS for the current year.

Tractor Supply announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 13th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the specialty retailer to purchase up to 3.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were issued a $0.92 dividend. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. This is a boost from Tractor Supply’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Tractor Supply’s dividend payout ratio is 45.10%.

About Tractor Supply

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.