Jennison Associates LLC Sells 3,188 Shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

Jennison Associates LLC cut its holdings in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 73,428 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 3,188 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Tractor Supply worth $15,789,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in TSCO. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Tractor Supply by 9,370.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,822,151 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $573,038,000 after purchasing an additional 2,792,352 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Tractor Supply by 76.7% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,024,182 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $411,010,000 after purchasing an additional 878,874 shares during the last quarter. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt lifted its stake in Tractor Supply by 87.5% in the fourth quarter. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt now owns 750,000 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $161,272,000 after purchasing an additional 350,000 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 32,987.5% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 270,325 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $58,128,000 after acquiring an additional 269,508 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Tractor Supply by 22.4% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,148,340 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $233,170,000 after acquiring an additional 210,131 shares during the last quarter. 98.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Robert D. Mills sold 48,334 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $5,147,842.41. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Robert D. Mills sold 48,334 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $5,147,842.41. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Kurt D. Barton sold 4,335 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.00, for a total transaction of $1,114,095.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 20,678 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,314,246. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 90,090 shares of company stock worth $21,201,877 over the last 90 days. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Tractor Supply Price Performance

Shares of TSCO opened at $265.26 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $251.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $226.10. Tractor Supply has a fifty-two week low of $185.00 and a fifty-two week high of $268.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 1.50. The stock has a market cap of $28.63 billion, a PE ratio of 26.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.84.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The specialty retailer reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.06. Tractor Supply had a net margin of 7.61% and a return on equity of 53.60%. The firm had revenue of $3.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.43 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Tractor Supply will post 10.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were issued 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 1.66%. Tractor Supply’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on TSCO. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Tractor Supply in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $245.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Tractor Supply from $280.00 to $275.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $275.00 price objective on shares of Tractor Supply in a research note on Thursday. Guggenheim upped their price objective 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. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $256.00 price objective on shares of Tractor Supply in a research note on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $241.65.

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.