Natixis Advisors LLC Purchases 457,896 Shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

Natixis Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) by 660.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 527,271 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 457,896 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.10% of Tractor Supply worth $27,977,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Tractor Supply by 416.5% in the fourth quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 5,640 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 4,548 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Tractor Supply by 400.0% in the fourth quarter. Harbour Investment Management LLC now owns 3,950 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $210,000 after purchasing an additional 3,160 shares during the last quarter. Copperwynd Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Tractor Supply by 574.0% in the fourth quarter. Copperwynd Financial LLC now owns 5,830 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $309,000 after purchasing an additional 4,965 shares during the last quarter. Hilton Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Tractor Supply by 341.8% in the fourth quarter. Hilton Capital Management LLC now owns 167,146 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $8,869,000 after purchasing an additional 129,317 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Postrock Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Tractor Supply in the fourth quarter worth about $2,240,000. 98.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Tractor Supply

In other news, CFO Kurt D. Barton sold 12,146 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.00, for a total transaction of $680,176.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 47,715 shares in the company, valued at $2,672,040. This trade represents a 20.29 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Matthew L. Rubin sold 3,850 shares of the 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 31,787 shares in the company, valued at $1,833,792.03. This trade represents a 10.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 137,993 shares of company stock valued at $7,538,068 in the last 90 days. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on TSCO shares. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Tractor Supply from $63.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Tractor Supply from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Tractor Supply from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Tractor Supply from $262.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 30th. Finally, Loop Capital upped their price objective on shares of Tractor Supply from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Tractor Supply has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.22.

Tractor Supply Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:TSCO opened at $53.13 on Tuesday. Tractor Supply has a twelve month low of $48.30 and a twelve month high of $61.53. The company’s 50 day moving average is $55.18 and its 200 day moving average is $55.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The company has a market cap of $28.37 billion, a PE ratio of 26.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.85.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty retailer reported $0.44 earnings per share 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Tractor Supply will post 2.17 EPS for the current year.

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

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a dividend of $0.92 per share. This is a boost from Tractor Supply’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.93%. Tractor Supply’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.