Casey’s General Stores, Inc. $CASY Shares Sold by First Merchants Corp

First Merchants Corp cut its position in shares of Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) by 23.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,978 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,205 shares during the quarter. First Merchants Corp’s holdings in Casey’s General Stores were worth $2,030,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in Casey’s General Stores during the first quarter worth about $32,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Casey’s General Stores by 40.0% during the first quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 91 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its stake in Casey’s General Stores by 242.9% during the second quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 96 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Casey’s General Stores during the first quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Casey’s General Stores during the first quarter worth about $59,000. 85.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Casey’s General Stores Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of CASY opened at $553.74 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $20.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.54 and a beta of 0.68. Casey’s General Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $372.08 and a one year high of $571.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $528.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $491.32.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, September 8th. The company reported $5.77 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.02 by $0.75. The firm had revenue of $4.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.47 billion. Casey’s General Stores had a return on equity of 16.73% and a net margin of 3.54%.Casey’s General Stores’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.83 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Casey’s General Stores, Inc. will post 13.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Casey’s General Stores Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Saturday, November 1st will be issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Casey’s General Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Chad Michael Frazell sold 3,487 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $555.40, for a total value of $1,936,679.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 7,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,439,312.20. This represents a 30.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Casey’s General Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 14th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Casey’s General Stores from $575.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. KeyCorp upped their target price on Casey’s General Stores from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Casey’s General Stores from $468.00 to $542.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $570.00 target price on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a research report on Wednesday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $533.10.

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.