Meeder Asset Management Inc. Acquires 12,420 Shares of Casey's General Stores, Inc. $CASY

Key Points

• Meeder Asset Management dramatically increased its stake in Casey's General Stores, buying 12,420 additional shares in the first quarter and ending with 12,426 shares valued at about $9.0 million.
• Casey's reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $4.37 versus $3.31 expected and revenue of $4.57 billion, up 14.5% year over year. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.65 per share from $0.57.
• Wall Street sentiment remains constructive: analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus with an average price target of $940. However, insiders have recently sold shares, including the CFO and another executive, totaling $24.4 million over the last 90 days.

Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Casey's General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY - Free Report) by 207,000.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,426 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 12,420 shares during the quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Casey's General Stores were worth $9,044,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Kathmere Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Casey's General Stores by 3.5% in the first quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 387 shares of the company's stock worth $282,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares during the period. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. boosted its holdings in Casey's General Stores by 4.8% in the first quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 303 shares of the company's stock worth $221,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC grew its position in Casey's General Stores by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 1,267 shares of the company's stock worth $700,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. grew its position in Casey's General Stores by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 5,136 shares of the company's stock worth $2,839,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the period. Finally, FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Casey's General Stores by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,338 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,292,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.63% of the company's stock.

Casey's General Stores Price Performance

Shares of Casey's General Stores stock opened at $859.12 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $31.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 1.01. The stock's fifty day moving average is $822.56 and its 200 day moving average is $732.81. Casey's General Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $490.00 and a one year high of $927.85.

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

Casey's General Stores Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on CASY shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Casey's General Stores from $910.00 to $960.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Casey's General Stores from $695.00 to $795.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Northcoast Research raised Casey's General Stores from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $950.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 13th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Casey's General Stores from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $950.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Casey's General Stores from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Casey's General Stores currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $940.00.

Insider Activity at Casey's General Stores

In other news, insider Chad Michael Frazell sold 3,013 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Stephen P. Bramlage, Jr. sold 5,700 shares of Casey's General Stores stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $838.16, for a total transaction of $4,777,512.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 29,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,874,074.32. This trade represents a 16.11% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 30,243 shares of company stock worth $24,421,877 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

About Casey's General Stores

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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