Busey Bank Acquires New Position in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

Busey Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,000 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $215,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of TSCO. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Tractor Supply by 9,370.6% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,822,151 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $573,038,000 after buying an additional 2,792,352 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Tractor Supply during the fourth quarter valued at about $264,936,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in shares of Tractor Supply by 84.0% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,159,008 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $485,712,000 after buying an additional 985,799 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Tractor Supply by 76.7% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,024,182 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $411,010,000 after buying an additional 878,874 shares during the period. Finally, Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt bought a new stake in shares of Tractor Supply during the third quarter valued at about $81,220,000. 98.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Tractor Supply Stock Performance

Shares of TSCO stock opened at $253.19 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 1.50. Tractor Supply has a fifty-two week low of $185.00 and a fifty-two week high of $268.02. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $247.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $222.43. The company has a market capitalization of $27.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.09, a PEG ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.84.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The specialty retailer reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.06. Tractor Supply had a return on equity of 53.60% and a net margin of 7.61%. The firm had revenue of $3.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.67 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.43 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Tractor Supply will post 10.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were given a $1.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.74%. This is an increase from Tractor Supply’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. Tractor Supply’s payout ratio is presently 43.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TSCO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Tractor Supply from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Bank of America lowered Tractor Supply from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $207.00 to $171.00 in a report on Friday, December 15th. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price objective on Tractor Supply from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Tractor Supply from $210.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Stephens lowered Tractor Supply from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $226.00 to $240.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Tractor Supply presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $239.83.

Insider Activity at Tractor Supply

In related news, CFO Kurt D. Barton sold 401 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 25,013 shares in the company, valued at $5,804,516.78. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Kurt D. Barton sold 401 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 25,013 shares in the company, valued at $5,804,516.78. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kurt D. Barton sold 4,335 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.00, for a total value of $1,114,095.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 20,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,314,246. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 90,090 shares of company stock worth $21,201,877 over the last quarter. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Tractor Supply Company 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.