Casey's General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) Insider Thomas P. Brennan, Jr. Sells 6,600 Shares

Casey's General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY - Get Free Report) insider Thomas P. Brennan, Jr. sold 6,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $506.03, for a total transaction of $3,339,798.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,062,663. The trade was a 75.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Casey's General Stores Stock Performance

CASY traded up $10.16 during trading on Monday, reaching $510.43. 308,401 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 302,973. Casey's General Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $350.52 and a 52 week high of $512.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $461.37 and a 200 day moving average of $430.07. The stock has a market cap of $18.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.87, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.66.

Casey's General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, June 9th. The company reported $2.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.69. The business had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.95 billion. Casey's General Stores had a net margin of 3.43% and a return on equity of 16.28%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.34 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Casey's General Stores, Inc. will post 13.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Casey's General Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. This is a boost from Casey's General Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Casey's General Stores's payout ratio is 13.66%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Casey's General Stores

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Casey's General Stores by 190.6% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,244,311 shares of the company's stock valued at $540,081,000 after buying an additional 816,110 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Casey's General Stores in the 4th quarter worth approximately $236,500,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Casey's General Stores by 54,448.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 543,852 shares of the company's stock valued at $236,054,000 after acquiring an additional 542,855 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Casey's General Stores in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $175,607,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Casey's General Stores by 42.0% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,036,426 shares of the company's stock valued at $449,851,000 after acquiring an additional 306,628 shares during the period. 85.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on CASY shares. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $490.00 price target on shares of Casey's General Stores in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Casey's General Stores from $450.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Casey's General Stores from $460.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Casey's General Stores from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $438.00 price target on shares of Casey's General Stores and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $453.00.

Casey's General Stores Company 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.