Cynosure Group LLC Purchases 4,931 Shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

Cynosure Group LLC boosted its position in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) by 322.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,460 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,931 shares during the period. Cynosure Group LLC’s holdings in Tractor Supply were worth $343,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Huntington National Bank grew its holdings in Tractor Supply by 415.1% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 28,525 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,514,000 after acquiring an additional 22,987 shares during the last quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC grew its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 537.2% in the fourth quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC now owns 16,840 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $894,000 after purchasing an additional 14,197 shares during the last quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. increased its holdings in Tractor Supply by 400.0% in the fourth quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. now owns 1,000 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Tractor Supply by 404.5% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,188,663 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $222,250,000 after purchasing an additional 3,358,470 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP bought a new stake in shares of Tractor Supply in the 4th quarter valued at about $15,535,000. 98.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Tractor Supply news, EVP Melissa Kersey sold 9,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.17, for a total value of $494,481.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 34,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,858,876.37. This trade represents a 21.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Matthew L. Rubin sold 3,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 31,787 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,833,792.03. The trade was a 10.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 137,993 shares of company stock valued at $7,538,068. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on TSCO. Barclays dropped their price objective on 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. Truist Financial cut their price target on Tractor Supply from $63.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $67.00 price objective on shares of Tractor Supply in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Mizuho increased their target price 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. Finally, Loop Capital lifted their price target on shares of Tractor Supply from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the company 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 given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.22.

Tractor Supply Price Performance

Tractor Supply stock opened at $55.62 on Thursday. Tractor Supply has a 52 week low of $48.30 and a 52 week high of $61.53. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $54.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.64. The stock has a market cap of $29.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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, equities analysts predict that Tractor Supply will post 2.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Tractor Supply announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 13th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the specialty retailer to reacquire up to 3.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th were issued a dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. This is an increase from Tractor Supply’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Tractor Supply’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.10%.

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.