Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Purchases 6,328 Shares of Casey's General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY)

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Casey's General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY - Free Report) by 22.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,903 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,328 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC owned about 0.09% of Casey's General Stores worth $13,830,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Casey's General Stores during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $236,500,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Casey's General Stores during the 4th quarter worth approximately $175,607,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Casey's General Stores by 160.1% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 428,201 shares of the company's stock worth $169,666,000 after acquiring an additional 263,545 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Casey's General Stores by 49.9% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 524,237 shares of the company's stock valued at $204,861,000 after buying an additional 174,586 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Casey's General Stores by 18.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 758,804 shares of the company's stock valued at $285,090,000 after purchasing an additional 119,350 shares in the last quarter. 85.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp initiated coverage on shares of Casey's General Stores in a report on Friday, April 11th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $500.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Casey's General Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 8th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Casey's General Stores from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Royal Bank of Canada set a $438.00 price objective on shares of Casey's General Stores and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Stephens raised shares of Casey's General Stores to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Casey's General Stores has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $430.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Casey's General Stores news, insider Katrina S. Lindsey sold 250 shares of Casey's General Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $437.01, for a total value of $109,252.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 2,443 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,067,615.43. The trade was a 9.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Mike Spanos acquired 256 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $390.54 per share, with a total value of $99,978.24. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,356 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,310,652.24. This represents a 8.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.56% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Casey's General Stores Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CASY traded down $11.40 during trading on Thursday, hitting $454.56. 224,501 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 285,001. Casey's General Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $313.89 and a 12-month high of $474.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.68, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.70. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $430.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $417.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.49.

Casey's General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY - Get Free Report) last released its 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. Casey's General Stores had a net margin of 3.57% and a return on equity of 17.17%. The business had revenue of $3.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.33 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Casey's General Stores, Inc. will post 13.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Casey's General Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 1st will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 1st. Casey's General Stores's dividend payout ratio is 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.