3,472,484 Shares in Casey's General Stores, Inc. $CASY Bought by BlackRock Inc.

Key Points

• BlackRock acquired 3.47 million Casey’s General Stores shares during the second quarter, worth approximately $2.76 billion and representing a 9.38% stake. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 85.63% of the stock.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with 14 Buy ratings and six Hold ratings; Casey’s has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $944.20.
• Casey’s reported quarterly earnings of $4.37 per share, exceeding estimates by $1.06, while revenue rose 14.5% year over year to $4.57 billion. The company also increased its quarterly dividend to $0.65 per share, although insiders sold roughly $24.4 million of stock over the past 90 days.

BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Casey's General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 3,472,484 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,759,895,000. BlackRock Inc. owned about 9.38% of Casey's General Stores at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Casey's General Stores in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc purchased a new position in Casey's General Stores in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Casey's General Stores by 252.4% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 74 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. RMG Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Casey's General Stores by 250.0% during the first quarter. RMG Wealth Management LLC now owns 56 shares of the company's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Casey's General Stores in the fourth quarter worth $43,000. 85.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on CASY shares. Capital One Financial began coverage on shares of Casey's General Stores in a report on Monday, June 22nd. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $896.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut Casey's General Stores from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. KeyCorp upped their target price on Casey's General Stores from $950.00 to $970.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Stephens set a $975.00 target price on Casey's General Stores and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Casey's General Stores from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 13th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $944.20.

Insider Transactions at Casey's General Stores

In other Casey's General Stores news, insider Katrina S. Lindsey sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $800.00, for a total transaction of $1,600,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 6,668 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,334,400. This trade represents a 23.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Darren M. Rebelez sold 19,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $801.46, for a total transaction of $15,227,740.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 89,174 shares of the company's stock, valued at $71,469,394.04. The trade was a 17.56% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 30,243 shares of company stock valued at $24,421,877 over the last ninety days. 0.67% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Casey's General Stores Stock Performance

Shares of CASY stock opened at $836.15 on Thursday. Casey's General Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $490.00 and a 12 month high of $927.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.61. The company's fifty day moving average price is $840.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $773.90.

Casey's General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, June 9th. The company reported $4.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.31 by $1.06. The company had revenue of $4.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.33 billion. Casey's General Stores had a return on equity of 18.73% and a net margin of 4.07%.The company's revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.63 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Casey's General Stores, Inc. will post 21.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Casey's General Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Saturday, August 1st were paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. This is a boost from Casey's General Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 31st. Casey's General Stores's payout ratio is presently 13.57%.

Casey's General Stores Profile

Casey's General Stores, Inc NASDAQ: CASY is a U.S.-based convenience store chain that operates retail fuel stations and food-focused convenience outlets. Founded in 1959 in Boone, Iowa, the company has grown from a single neighborhood store into a regional operator known for combining traditional convenience retailing—fuel, packaged goods and tobacco—with a larger emphasis on fresh and prepared foods.

The company's stores typically offer gasoline and diesel alongside a range of grocery essentials, grab-and-go items and made-to-order foodservice.

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