Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Increases Holdings in Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) by 9.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,951 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Casey’s General Stores were worth $1,169,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,046,830 shares of the company’s stock valued at $393,305,000 after buying an additional 38,226 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 18.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 758,804 shares of the company’s stock valued at $285,090,000 after purchasing an additional 119,350 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 1.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 655,488 shares of the company’s stock worth $246,335,000 after purchasing an additional 8,428 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Casey’s General Stores in the fourth quarter valued at $236,500,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Casey’s General Stores by 49.9% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 524,237 shares of the company’s stock valued at $204,861,000 after purchasing an additional 174,586 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $450.00 price objective (up from $400.00) on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $438.00 price objective on Casey’s General Stores and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com lowered Casey’s General Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 8th. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Casey’s General Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $460.00 to $450.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $423.09.

Casey’s General Stores Trading Up 2.8 %

NASDAQ:CASY opened at $395.63 on Friday. Casey’s General Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $303.95 and a 12-month high of $445.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.49. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $409.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $399.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.87.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.57. The business had revenue of $3.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.74 billion. Casey’s General Stores had a net margin of 3.57% and a return on equity of 17.17%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.33 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Casey’s General Stores, Inc. will post 13.94 EPS for the current year.

Casey’s General Stores Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 1st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Casey’s General Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.94%.

Insider Transactions at Casey’s General Stores

In other Casey’s General Stores news, Director Mike Spanos purchased 256 shares of Casey’s General Stores stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $390.54 per share, for a total transaction of $99,978.24. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,310,652.24. The trade was a 8.26 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Casey’s General Stores Profile

Casey’s General Stores, Inc engages in the provision of management and operation of convenience stores and gasoline stations. It provides self-service gasoline, a wide selection of grocery items, and an array of freshly prepared food items. The firm offers food, beverages, tobacco products, health and beauty aids, automotive products, and other non-food items.