Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) Shares Sold by Arete Wealth Advisors LLC

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC lessened its position in shares of Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,510 shares of the company’s stock after selling 102 shares during the period. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Casey’s General Stores were worth $3,784,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 55.6% in the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 8,579 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,629,000 after purchasing an additional 3,065 shares in the last quarter. JLB & Associates Inc. increased its position in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. JLB & Associates Inc. now owns 43,029 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,049,000 after buying an additional 749 shares in the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC raised its stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 53,330 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,131,000 after buying an additional 4,458 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council lifted its position in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 28.0% during the 4th quarter. South Dakota Investment Council now owns 10,065 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,988,000 after buying an additional 2,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Casey’s General Stores in the 4th quarter valued at $45,224,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.63% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on CASY. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Casey’s General Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Casey’s General Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 8th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $438.00 target price on Casey’s General Stores and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Casey’s General Stores from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, 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 note on Wednesday, December 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $424.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mike Spanos acquired 256 shares of Casey’s General Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $390.54 per share, for a total transaction of $99,978.24. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 3,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,310,652.24. This represents a 8.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Casey’s General Stores Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of CASY stock opened at $443.88 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. Casey’s General Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $306.45 and a twelve month high of $446.60. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $415.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $404.26. The stock has a market cap of $16.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.93, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.87.

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

Casey’s General Stores Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 1st will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 1st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.45%. Casey’s General Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.94%.

About Casey’s General Stores

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.