Merit Financial Group LLC Acquires New Position in Casey's General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY)

Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Casey's General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 775 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $336,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CASY. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Casey's General Stores in the fourth quarter valued at about $201,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Casey's General Stores in the fourth quarter valued at about $203,000. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc increased its stake in Casey's General Stores by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc now owns 14,966 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,930,000 after acquiring an additional 355 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Casey's General Stores by 39.2% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 29,554 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,710,000 after acquiring an additional 8,327 shares during the period. Finally, Consolidated Planning Corp increased its stake in Casey's General Stores by 76.4% in the fourth quarter. Consolidated Planning Corp now owns 1,041 shares of the company's stock valued at $412,000 after acquiring an additional 451 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.63% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Allison M. Wing sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $502.16, for a total value of $502,160.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,058 shares in the company, valued at $1,535,605.28. This represents a 24.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Katrina S. Lindsey sold 250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $437.01, for a total transaction of $109,252.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 2,443 shares in the company, valued at $1,067,615.43. This represents a 9.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.56% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on CASY shares. Evercore ISI upped their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Casey's General Stores from $385.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Casey's General Stores from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $490.00 price objective on shares of Casey's General Stores in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada set a $438.00 price objective on shares of Casey's General Stores and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Casey's General Stores currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $453.00.

Casey's General Stores Price Performance

Shares of CASY traded down $0.83 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $506.16. 457,861 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 301,946. Casey's General Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $350.52 and a one year high of $512.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The business has a 50-day moving average of $453.67 and a 200 day moving average of $426.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.27, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.65.

Casey's General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, June 9th. The company reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.69. Casey's General Stores had a net margin of 3.57% and a return on equity of 17.17%. The business had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.95 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.34 earnings per share. Casey's General Stores's revenue was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. This is a boost from Casey's General Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. Casey's General Stores's dividend payout ratio is 13.94%.

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.