Casey's General Stores, Inc. $CASY Shares Sold by ProShare Advisors LLC

Key Points

• ProShare Advisors LLC reduced its Casey’s General Stores stake by 8.8% in the fourth quarter, selling 5,954 shares and leaving it with 61,797 shares worth about $34.2 million.
• Institutional interest remains high, with hedge funds and other institutional investors owning 85.63% of the company. Several firms, including Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management and M&T Bank, significantly increased their holdings.
• Casey’s recently reported better-than-expected earnings of $3.49 per share for the quarter, while analysts currently have a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $737.36.

ProShare Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in Casey's General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY - Free Report) by 8.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 61,797 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,954 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC owned about 0.17% of Casey's General Stores worth $34,156,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in Casey's General Stores by 179,938.2% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,659,164 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,469,747,000 after purchasing an additional 2,657,687 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Casey's General Stores by 35.4% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 791,415 shares of the company's stock worth $447,403,000 after purchasing an additional 206,777 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp lifted its stake in Casey's General Stores by 15,024.5% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 193,140 shares of the company's stock worth $106,750,000 after purchasing an additional 191,863 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Casey's General Stores by 717.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 159,106 shares of the company's stock worth $89,946,000 after buying an additional 139,647 shares during the period. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its position in shares of Casey's General Stores by 146.4% during the third quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 157,119 shares of the company's stock worth $88,823,000 after buying an additional 93,366 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.63% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on CASY shares. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Casey's General Stores from $662.00 to $713.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $680.00 target price on shares of Casey's General Stores in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Casey's General Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 21st. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Casey's General Stores from $830.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Casey's General Stores in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $719.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $737.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Mike Spanos purchased 300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $665.43 per share, for a total transaction of $199,629.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 4,499 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,993,769.57. The trade was a 7.14% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Katrina S. Lindsey sold 200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $683.04, for a total transaction of $136,608.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 4,039 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,758,798.56. This trade represents a 4.72% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Casey's General Stores Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NASDAQ CASY opened at $852.51 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $31.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.94, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.65. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $763.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $654.79. Casey's General Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $433.16 and a 12-month high of $901.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Casey's General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, March 9th. The company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.94 by $0.55. Casey's General Stores had a return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 3.83%.The firm had revenue of $3.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.33 EPS. Casey's General Stores's revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Casey's General Stores, Inc. will post 18.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Casey's General Stores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 1st were given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 1st. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Casey's General Stores's payout ratio is currently 13.09%.

Casey's General Stores Company 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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