Copeland Capital Management LLC Sells 15,485 Shares of Casey's General Stores, Inc. $CASY

Key Points

• Copeland Capital Management reduced its Casey's General Stores stake by 20.8% in the first quarter, selling 15,485 shares and leaving it with 58,972 shares valued at about $42.9 million.
• Casey's reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $4.37 and revenue of $4.57 billion, both ahead of estimates; revenue also rose 14.5% from a year earlier.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.65 per share from $0.57, while analysts remain mostly bullish with a consensus Moderate Buy rating and a $940 average price target.

Copeland Capital Management LLC cut its position in Casey's General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY - Free Report) by 20.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 58,972 shares of the company's stock after selling 15,485 shares during the quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC owned about 0.16% of Casey's General Stores worth $42,924,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CASY. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Casey's General Stores in the first quarter worth $33,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in Casey's General Stores by 350.0% during the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 54 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division boosted its stake in Casey's General Stores by 52.8% during the fourth quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 55 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC grew its position in Casey's General Stores by 47.6% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 62 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Western Pacific Wealth Management LP purchased a new position in Casey's General Stores during the first quarter worth about $52,000. 85.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Casey's General Stores Trading Up 3.9%

NASDAQ CASY opened at $859.12 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $822.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $731.65. Casey's General Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $490.00 and a twelve month high of $927.85. The company has a market capitalization of $31.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.84, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.62.

Casey's General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 9th. The company reported $4.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.31 by $1.06. The firm had revenue of $4.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.63 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Casey's General Stores, Inc. will post 21.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Casey's General Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, August 1st will be paid a $0.65 dividend. This is an increase from Casey's General Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. Casey's General Stores's payout ratio is currently 11.90%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Casey's General Stores news, insider Chad Michael Frazell sold 3,013 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $787.49, for a total transaction of $2,372,707.37. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,823 shares in the company, valued at $7,735,514.27. This trade represents a 23.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Katrina S. Lindsey sold 2,000 shares of Casey's General Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $800.00, for a total transaction of $1,600,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 6,668 shares in the company, valued at $5,334,400. This trade represents a 23.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 30,243 shares of company stock valued at $24,421,877 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Casey's General Stores from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $950.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Weiss Ratings raised Casey's General Stores from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Stephens set a $975.00 price objective on shares of Casey's General Stores and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Casey's General Stores from $695.00 to $795.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Casey's General Stores from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 13th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Casey's General Stores has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $940.00.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.