Stifel Financial Corp Has $436.90 Million Stock Holdings in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) by 398.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 8,233,999 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 6,582,562 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp’s holdings in Tractor Supply were worth $436,899,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in TSCO. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position 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 worth $3,397,643,000 after purchasing an additional 51,031,178 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Tractor Supply by 401.8% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 23,789,249 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,262,258,000 after buying an additional 19,048,385 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in Tractor Supply by 403.3% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 22,256,534 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,180,932,000 after buying an additional 17,834,643 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its position in Tractor Supply by 403.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 19,433,135 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,031,122,000 after acquiring an additional 15,575,311 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors grew its holdings in Tractor Supply by 334.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,429,288 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $818,421,000 after acquiring an additional 11,880,010 shares during the period. 98.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Tractor Supply Price Performance

TSCO opened at $50.11 on Monday. Tractor Supply has a 1 year low of $46.97 and a 1 year high of $61.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 0.20. The company has a market capitalization of $26.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.88. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $53.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.07.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty retailer reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by ($1.84). Tractor Supply had a return on equity of 49.01% and a net margin of 7.40%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Tractor Supply will post 2.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Tractor Supply declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, February 13th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the specialty retailer to purchase up to 3.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 is a positive change from Tractor Supply’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. Tractor Supply’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Matthew L. Rubin sold 3,850 shares of Tractor Supply stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.69, for a total transaction of $222,106.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,787 shares in the company, valued at $1,833,792.03. The trade was a 10.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Harry A. Lawton III sold 88,095 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.59, for a total transaction of $4,809,106.05. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 488,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,686,430.68. The trade was a 15.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 137,993 shares of company stock valued at $7,538,068. Insiders own 0.65% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on TSCO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Tractor Supply from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays dropped their price target 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. Bank of America raised their price objective 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 boosted their target price 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, Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $67.00 price target on shares of Tractor Supply in a report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Tractor Supply presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.07.

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.