Royal Bank of Canada Buys 1,523,969 Shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) by 546.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,802,801 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,523,969 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned about 0.34% of Tractor Supply worth $95,656,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of TSCO. Rafferty Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Tractor Supply by 447.7% during the fourth quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 56,932 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,021,000 after buying an additional 46,537 shares in the last quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG acquired a new stake in shares of Tractor Supply in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $123,000. Private Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Tractor Supply by 400.0% during the 4th quarter. Private Capital Management LLC now owns 14,200 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $753,000 after buying an additional 11,360 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in Tractor Supply by 453.4% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 91,389 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $4,849,000 after buying an additional 74,876 shares during the period. Finally, Quadcap Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Tractor Supply by 370.9% during the 4th quarter. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,185 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $275,000 after buying an additional 4,084 shares during the period. 98.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Tractor Supply

In other news, SVP Matthew L. Rubin sold 2,810 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.76, for a total value of $145,445.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 29,722 shares in the company, valued at $1,538,410.72. This trade represents a 8.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.65% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Tractor Supply in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $56.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Tractor Supply from $63.00 to $56.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Raymond James decreased their price target on shares of Tractor Supply from $61.00 to $57.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Guggenheim decreased their price target on shares of Tractor Supply from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, UBS Group set a $54.00 target price on shares of Tractor Supply in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Tractor Supply currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.02.

Tractor Supply Stock Down 0.2%

NASDAQ TSCO opened at $52.91 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $51.65 and its 200 day moving average is $54.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. Tractor Supply has a 12 month low of $46.85 and a 12 month high of $61.53. The stock has a market cap of $28.05 billion, a PE ratio of 25.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.82.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The specialty retailer reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.03). Tractor Supply had a net margin of 7.40% and a return on equity of 49.01%. The business had revenue of $3.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.55 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.83 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Tractor Supply will post 2.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Tractor Supply declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the specialty retailer to repurchase up to 3.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Tractor Supply Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 28th. Tractor Supply’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.77%.

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.