JGP Wealth Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

JGP Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 59,005 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,677 shares during the quarter. Tractor Supply accounts for 1.9% of JGP Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. JGP Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Tractor Supply were worth $12,688,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in TSCO. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Tractor Supply by 1.9% during the first quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 5,006 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,166,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. raised its position in shares of Tractor Supply by 10.4% during the first quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 12,622 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,946,000 after buying an additional 1,186 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in shares of Tractor Supply by 12.1% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 75,163 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $17,565,000 after buying an additional 8,129 shares during the last quarter. Prudential PLC bought a new stake in shares of Tractor Supply during the first quarter valued at approximately $611,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in shares of Tractor Supply by 15.8% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 6,238 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,456,000 after buying an additional 849 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Tractor Supply

In related news, EVP Robert D. Mills sold 48,334 shares of Tractor Supply stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.23, for a total value of $11,224,604.82. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,147,842.41. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Tractor Supply news, EVP Robert D. Mills sold 48,334 shares of Tractor Supply stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.23, for a total transaction of $11,224,604.82. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,147,842.41. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Colin Yankee sold 8,675 shares of Tractor Supply stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $2,168,750.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,673 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,418,250. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 85,755 shares of company stock valued at $20,087,782. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Tractor Supply Stock Performance

Shares of Tractor Supply stock traded down $1.43 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $255.72. The company had a trading volume of 790,390 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,241,159. The stock has a market cap of $27.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.34, a PEG ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $236.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $217.31. Tractor Supply has a 12-month low of $185.00 and a 12-month high of $259.62.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The specialty retailer reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $3.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.67 billion. Tractor Supply had a net margin of 7.61% and a return on equity of 53.60%. The business’s revenue was down 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.43 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Tractor Supply will post 10.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a dividend of $1.10 per share. This is a boost from Tractor Supply’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.72%. Tractor Supply’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stephens downgraded shares of Tractor Supply from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $226.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group upped their price target on shares of Tractor Supply from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of Tractor Supply from $210.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Raymond James downgraded shares of Tractor Supply from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $230.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Tractor Supply from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Tractor Supply has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $235.68.

About Tractor Supply

Tractor Supply Company operates as a rural lifestyle retailer in the United States. The company offers a selection of merchandise, including equine, livestock, pet, and small animal products necessary for their health, care, growth, and containment; hardware, truck, towing, and tool products; seasonal products, such as heating products, lawn and garden items, power equipment, gifts, and toys; work/recreational clothing and footwear; and maintenance products for agricultural and rural use.