First National Advisers LLC Makes New Investment in Casey's General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY)

Key Points

• First National Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Casey's General Stores valued at approximately $669,000 in the first quarter, purchasing 1,541 shares of the stock.
• Insider Thomas P. Brennan, Jr. sold 6,600 shares at an average price of $506.03, a transaction valued at $3.34 million, reducing his ownership by 75.86%.
• Casey's General Stores has raised its quarterly dividend from $0.50 to $0.57, indicating a positive change for shareholders.

First National Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Casey's General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,541 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $669,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Casey's General Stores by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,776,323 shares of the company's stock valued at $703,833,000 after buying an additional 31,131 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Casey's General Stores by 29.5% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 678,778 shares of the company's stock worth $268,952,000 after purchasing an additional 154,541 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Casey's General Stores by 54,448.8% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 543,852 shares of the company's stock worth $236,054,000 after purchasing an additional 542,855 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Casey's General Stores by 51.5% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 515,603 shares of the company's stock valued at $223,792,000 after purchasing an additional 175,372 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Casey's General Stores by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 502,979 shares of the company's stock valued at $199,302,000 after buying an additional 17,539 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.63% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on CASY. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Casey's General Stores from $450.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Casey's General Stores from $460.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Casey's General Stores from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Casey's General Stores from $468.00 to $542.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Casey's General Stores from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $467.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Casey's General Stores news, CFO Stephen P. Bramlage, Jr. sold 8,478 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $509.21, for a total value of $4,317,082.38. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 26,754 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,623,404.34. This trade represents a 24.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Katrina S. Lindsey sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $506.07, for a total transaction of $1,012,140.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 4,636 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,346,140.52. This trade represents a 30.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 43,646 shares of company stock valued at $22,136,614. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Casey's General Stores Price Performance

CASY traded down $3.08 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $521.96. 254,187 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 365,048. The company has a market cap of $19.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.65 and a beta of 0.69. Casey's General Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $350.52 and a twelve month high of $531.24. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $492.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $449.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

Casey's General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, June 9th. The company reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.69. The company had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.95 billion. Casey's General Stores had a net margin of 3.43% and a return on equity of 16.28%. Casey's General Stores's revenue for the quarter was up 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.34 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Casey's General Stores, Inc. will post 13.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Casey's General Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This is an increase from Casey's General Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. Casey's General Stores's dividend payout ratio is 15.57%.

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.