California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 6,413 Shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

California Public Employees Retirement System decreased its position in shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 302,772 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 6,413 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Tractor Supply were worth $65,105,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. WCM Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Tractor Supply during the fourth quarter worth about $782,000. LPL Financial LLC raised its stake in Tractor Supply by 4.6% during the third quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 113,873 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $23,122,000 after acquiring an additional 5,014 shares in the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc raised its stake in Tractor Supply by 2,120.1% during the fourth quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 121,817 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $26,194,000 after acquiring an additional 116,330 shares in the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC raised its stake in Tractor Supply by 21.1% during the third quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 1,551 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $315,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in 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 worth $58,128,000 after acquiring an additional 269,508 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.72% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on TSCO shares. Stephens downgraded Tractor Supply from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $226.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Barclays upped their price objective on Tractor Supply from $192.00 to $234.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Tractor Supply from $230.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $275.00 price objective on shares of Tractor Supply in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $235.00 price objective on shares of Tractor Supply in a research note on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $241.65.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Kurt D. Barton sold 4,335 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.00, for a total value of $1,114,095.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 20,678 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,314,246. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Kurt D. Barton sold 4,335 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.00, for a total value of $1,114,095.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 20,678 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,314,246. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Robert D. Mills sold 48,334 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.23, for a total value of $11,224,604.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,167 shares in the company, valued at $5,147,842.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 90,090 shares of company stock worth $21,201,877. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Tractor Supply Price Performance

Tractor Supply stock opened at $265.26 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.29, a PEG ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.84. Tractor Supply has a 52-week low of $185.00 and a 52-week high of $268.02. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $251.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $226.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 1.50.

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

Tractor Supply Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were issued a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.66%. This is a boost from Tractor Supply’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. Tractor Supply’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.61%.

About Tractor Supply

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.