AQR Capital Management LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Casey's General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY)

AQR Capital Management LLC decreased its position in Casey's General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY - Free Report) by 24.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 46,400 shares of the company's stock after selling 15,051 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.13% of Casey's General Stores worth $18,385,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Casey's General Stores by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,799,104 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,505,319,000 after buying an additional 44,295 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Casey's General Stores by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,776,323 shares of the company's stock valued at $703,833,000 after purchasing an additional 31,131 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Casey's General Stores by 18.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 758,804 shares of the company's stock valued at $285,090,000 after acquiring an additional 119,350 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Casey's General Stores by 29.5% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 678,778 shares of the company's stock valued at $268,952,000 after purchasing an additional 154,541 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Casey's General Stores in the fourth quarter worth about $236,500,000. 85.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Casey's General Stores Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ CASY traded down $5.82 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $446.68. 811,250 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 288,498. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $432.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $418.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.13, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.70. Casey's General Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $313.89 and a twelve month high of $474.97.

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

Casey's General Stores Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Stephens raised Casey's General Stores to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Casey's General Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 8th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $438.00 price target on Casey's General Stores and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Casey's General Stores from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, KeyCorp initiated coverage on Casey's General Stores in a report on Friday, April 11th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $500.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $430.33.

Insider Transactions at Casey's General Stores

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 stock was purchased at an average price of $390.54 per share, for a total transaction of $99,978.24. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,356 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,310,652.24. This trade represents a 8.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Katrina S. Lindsey sold 250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $437.01, for a total value of $109,252.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,443 shares in the company, valued at $1,067,615.43. This trade represents a 9.28 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.56% of the company's stock.

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.