Cognios Beta Neutral Large Cap Fund LP Cuts Stock Position in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

Cognios Beta Neutral Large Cap Fund LP lowered its holdings in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) by 7.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,230 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 187 shares during the period. Cognios Beta Neutral Large Cap Fund LP’s holdings in Tractor Supply were worth $480,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. WCM Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Tractor Supply in the fourth quarter worth $782,000. LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Tractor Supply by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 113,873 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $23,122,000 after buying an additional 5,014 shares during the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc lifted its position in shares of Tractor Supply by 2,120.1% during the 4th quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 121,817 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $26,194,000 after buying an additional 116,330 shares during the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Tractor Supply by 21.1% during the 3rd quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 1,551 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $315,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Tractor Supply by 32,987.5% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 270,325 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $58,128,000 after buying an additional 269,508 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.72% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Tractor Supply

In other news, SVP Matthew L. Rubin sold 725 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.09, for a total value of $172,615.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,710 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,359,493.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Robert D. Mills sold 48,334 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.23, for a total transaction of $11,224,604.82. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,167 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,147,842.41. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matthew L. Rubin sold 725 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.09, for a total value of $172,615.25. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 5,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,359,493.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 90,090 shares of company stock worth $21,201,877. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Tractor Supply Price Performance

NASDAQ TSCO traded up $2.17 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $258.13. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,321,543 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,152,812. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.86 billion, a PE ratio of 25.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $251.14 and a 200 day moving average of $225.83. Tractor Supply has a one year low of $185.00 and a one year high of $268.02.

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Tractor Supply had a return on equity of 53.60% and a net margin of 7.61%. The firm had revenue of $3.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.67 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.43 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Tractor Supply will post 10.2 EPS 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 issued a $1.10 dividend. This is a boost from Tractor Supply’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. Tractor Supply’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TSCO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James cut 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 report on Friday, February 2nd. Stephens cut 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 report on Tuesday, January 23rd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Tractor Supply from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Tractor Supply from $280.00 to $275.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $235.00 price objective on shares of Tractor Supply in a research note on Tuesday. Two equities 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Tractor Supply currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $241.65.

Tractor Supply 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.