South Dakota Investment Council Lowers Stock Holdings in Casey’s General Stores, Inc. $CASY

South Dakota Investment Council cut its position in Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) by 11.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,582 shares of the company’s stock after selling 810 shares during the quarter. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Casey’s General Stores were worth $4,791,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Casey’s General Stores during the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. ORG Partners LLC increased its stake in Casey’s General Stores by 47.6% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 62 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 252.4% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 74 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. RMG Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 250.0% during the first quarter. RMG Wealth Management LLC now owns 56 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Casey’s General Stores in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CASY. Capital One Financial initiated coverage on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $896.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Casey’s General Stores to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,000.00 price target on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a research note on Monday, June 15th. BMO Capital Markets raised Casey’s General Stores from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $950.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Northcoast Research upgraded Casey’s General Stores from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $950.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $944.20.

Insider Activity

In other Casey’s General Stores news, CFO Stephen P. Bramlage, Jr. sold 5,700 shares of Casey’s General Stores stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $838.16, for a total transaction of $4,777,512.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 29,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,874,074.32. The trade was a 16.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Allison M. Wing sold 530 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $837.58, for a total value of $443,917.40. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,042 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,547,918.36. This represents a 14.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 30,243 shares of company stock valued at $24,421,877. Insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

Casey’s General Stores Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:CASY opened at $867.50 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $822.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $751.53. The stock has a market cap of $32.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.62. Casey’s General Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $490.00 and a fifty-two week high of $927.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 9th. The company reported $4.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.31 by $1.06. Casey’s General Stores had a net margin of 4.07% and a return on equity of 18.73%. The company had revenue of $4.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.63 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Casey’s General Stores, Inc. will post 21.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Casey’s General Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Saturday, August 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. This is an increase from Casey’s General Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Casey’s General Stores’s payout ratio is presently 11.90%.

About Casey’s General Stores

Casey’s General Stores, Inc (NASDAQ: CASY) is a U.S.-based convenience store chain that operates retail fuel stations and food-focused convenience outlets. Founded in 1959 in Boone, Iowa, the company has grown from a single neighborhood store into a regional operator known for combining traditional convenience retailing—fuel, packaged goods and tobacco—with a larger emphasis on fresh and prepared foods.

The company’s stores typically offer gasoline and diesel alongside a range of grocery essentials, grab-and-go items and made-to-order foodservice.