Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Grows Position in Casey's General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY)

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

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new position in shares of Casey's General Stores during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in Casey's General Stores during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings in shares of Casey's General Stores by 24.2% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 149 shares of the company's stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Casey's General Stores in the fourth quarter valued at about $79,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Casey's General Stores by 32.9% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 210 shares of the company's stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. 85.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. 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 note on Wednesday, March 12th. Gordon Haskett upgraded Casey's General Stores from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Stephens upgraded Casey's General Stores to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. KeyCorp assumed coverage on Casey's General Stores in a report on Friday, April 11th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $500.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Casey's General Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Casey's General Stores currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $430.33.

Casey's General Stores Trading Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ:CASY traded down $1.24 on Wednesday, reaching $465.96. 251,233 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 285,424. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.70. Casey's General Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $313.89 and a 1-year high of $486.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company's 50 day moving average is $429.58 and its 200-day moving average is $416.95.

Casey's General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 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 firm posted $2.33 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Casey's General Stores, Inc. will post 13.94 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 1st. Casey's General Stores's dividend payout ratio is presently 13.94%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Mike Spanos bought 256 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $390.54 per share, for a total transaction of $99,978.24. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,310,652.24. This trade represents a 8.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Katrina S. Lindsey sold 250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $437.01, for a total transaction of $109,252.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 2,443 shares of the company's stock, 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. Corporate insiders own 0.56% of the company's stock.

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.