Casey's General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) Stock Position Raised by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Casey's General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY - Free Report) by 11.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 269,426 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 26,822 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.73% of Casey's General Stores worth $116,942,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CASY. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Casey's General Stores by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 590 shares of the company's stock worth $256,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC grew its position in shares of Casey's General Stores by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the company's stock worth $628,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY increased its holdings in shares of Casey's General Stores by 2.1% in the first quarter. Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY now owns 1,204 shares of the company's stock worth $522,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its stake in Casey's General Stores by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,870 shares of the company's stock worth $812,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Finally, Dark Forest Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in Casey's General Stores by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 902 shares of the company's stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. 85.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CASY has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $490.00 price target on shares of Casey's General Stores in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Casey's General Stores from $385.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $438.00 target price on shares of Casey's General Stores and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Casey's General Stores from $460.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised 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 issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Casey's General Stores has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $453.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Casey's General Stores

In related news, CFO Stephen P. Bramlage, Jr. sold 760 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $507.56, for a total value of $385,745.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 25,994 shares in the company, valued at $13,193,514.64. The trade was a 2.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 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 value of $1,012,140.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 4,636 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,346,140.52. This 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 have sold 43,646 shares of company stock valued at $22,136,614. Corporate insiders own 0.56% of the company's stock.

Casey's General Stores Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CASY traded up $5.93 during trading on Friday, hitting $516.85. The company had a trading volume of 173,672 shares, compared to its average volume of 302,913. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $471.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $435.39. Casey's General Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $350.52 and a fifty-two week high of $517.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 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 announced its earnings results on Monday, June 9th. The company reported $2.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.69. Casey's General Stores had a net margin of 3.43% and a return on equity of 16.28%. The firm had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.95 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.34 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Casey's General Stores, Inc. will post 13.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Casey's General Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be issued a $0.57 dividend. This is an increase from Casey's General Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. Casey's General Stores's dividend payout ratio is presently 13.66%.

Casey's General Stores Company 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.