New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 15,200 Shares of Casey's General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY)

New York State Common Retirement Fund lowered its holdings in shares of Casey's General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY - Free Report) by 50.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 15,017 shares of the company's stock after selling 15,200 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund's holdings in Casey's General Stores were worth $6,518,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CASY. Versant Capital Management Inc bought a new stake in Casey's General Stores during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Global Financial Private Client LLC raised its stake in shares of Casey's General Stores by 325.0% during the first quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC now owns 68 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Casey's General Stores by 160.0% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 117 shares of the company's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Casey's General Stores in the first quarter worth about $59,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Casey's General Stores during the 4th quarter valued at about $79,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.63% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Casey's General Stores Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ CASY traded up $2.06 on Thursday, reaching $526.06. 271,427 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 293,365. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $489.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $446.85. Casey's General Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $350.52 and a 12 month high of $530.17. The company has a market cap of $19.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.93 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

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

Casey's General Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. This is a positive change from Casey's General Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 1st. Casey's General Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CASY has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on 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. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Casey's General Stores from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Casey's General Stores from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $490.00 target price on shares of Casey's General Stores in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Casey's General Stores from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $465.25.

About Casey's General Stores

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.