Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC Sells 615 Shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)

Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC lowered its stake in Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) by 19.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,619 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 615 shares during the period. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Tractor Supply were worth $762,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Tractor Supply by 527.7% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 26,501 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $7,155,000 after acquiring an additional 22,279 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its stake in Tractor Supply by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 4,504 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,216,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in shares of Tractor Supply by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 143,749 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $37,622,000 after acquiring an additional 4,788 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Tractor Supply by 11,952.8% in the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 241,177 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $63,121,000 after purchasing an additional 239,176 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Tractor Supply by 12.5% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,330,621 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $871,691,000 after buying an additional 368,859 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.72% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI cut shares of Tractor Supply from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $300.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Gordon Haskett downgraded Tractor Supply from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Loop Capital increased their price target on Tractor Supply from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $335.00 price objective on shares of Tractor Supply in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Tractor Supply from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Tractor Supply presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $279.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Kurt D. Barton sold 23,532 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.64, for a total value of $6,957,000.48. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 9,683 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,862,682.12. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Kurt D. Barton sold 23,532 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.64, for a total transaction of $6,957,000.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 9,683 shares in the company, valued at $2,862,682.12. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Matthew L. Rubin sold 540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.35, for a total transaction of $141,669.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 5,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,356,349.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Tractor Supply Stock Performance

Shares of Tractor Supply stock traded up $4.21 during trading on Friday, hitting $269.72. 384,370 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,049,474. Tractor Supply has a 52-week low of $191.38 and a 52-week high of $307.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a current ratio of 1.48. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $282.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $273.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.81, a PEG ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.80.

Tractor Supply Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 26th were given a dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.63%. Tractor Supply’s payout ratio is presently 42.80%.

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.