Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Has $19.72 Million Stock Position in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its position in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) by 112.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 371,600 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 196,550 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C.’s holdings in Tractor Supply were worth $19,717,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TSCO. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Tractor Supply in the 3rd quarter valued at $734,000. Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Tractor Supply by 722.5% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 95,172 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $27,688,000 after buying an additional 83,601 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Tractor Supply by 2.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 454,175 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $137,950,000 after buying an additional 8,890 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Tractor Supply by 345.6% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 860 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 667 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Tractor Supply by 515.5% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 13,702 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $727,000 after acquiring an additional 11,476 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.72% of the company’s stock.

Tractor Supply Stock Performance

NASDAQ:TSCO opened at $49.92 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $26.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.88. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $53.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 0.20. Tractor Supply has a 1 year low of $46.85 and a 1 year high of $61.53.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The specialty retailer reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $3.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.55 billion. Tractor Supply had a return on equity of 49.01% and a net margin of 7.40%. On average, analysts expect that Tractor Supply will post 2.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Tractor Supply announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 13th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the specialty retailer to purchase up to 3.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is 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 paid a dividend of $0.92 per share. This is a boost from Tractor Supply’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. Tractor Supply’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Tractor Supply news, 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 transaction of $222,106.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 31,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,833,792.03. The trade was a 10.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 34,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,858,876.37. The trade was a 21.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 137,993 shares of company stock valued at $7,538,068. Company insiders own 0.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Mizuho cut their price target on Tractor Supply from $62.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Tractor Supply from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Guggenheim lowered their price target on Tractor Supply from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Tractor Supply from $59.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.62.

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.