Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $116.94 Million Stock Holdings in Casey's General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Casey's General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY - Free Report) by 11.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 269,426 shares of the company's stock after acquiring 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 filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of CASY. Versant Capital Management Inc bought a new position in shares of Casey's General Stores in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Global Financial Private Client LLC lifted its stake in shares of Casey's General Stores by 325.0% in the 1st 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 lifted its stake in shares of Casey's General Stores by 160.0% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 117 shares of the company's stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Casey's General Stores in the 4th quarter valued at $79,000. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of Casey's General Stores in the 4th quarter valued at $87,000. 85.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Casey's General Stores Trading Down 2.6%

Casey's General Stores stock traded down $13.86 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $512.30. 413,978 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 304,040. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $473.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $437.16. Casey's General Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $350.52 and a twelve month high of $528.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.05 billion, a PE ratio of 34.99 and a beta of 0.69.

Casey's General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, June 9th. The company reported $2.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.95 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.34 EPS. The business's revenue was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Casey's General Stores, Inc. will post 13.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Casey's General Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This is an increase 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 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. Casey's General Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on CASY shares. Stephens reiterated 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. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Casey's General Stores from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Casey's General Stores from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $438.00 price objective on Casey's General Stores and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Casey's General Stores from $450.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. One research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Casey's General Stores has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $453.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Chad Michael Frazell sold 4,808 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $503.97, for a total value of $2,423,087.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 11,480 shares in the company, valued at $5,785,575.60. This trade represents a 29.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Mike Spanos bought 200 shares of Casey's General Stores stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $503.18 per share, with a total value of $100,636.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 3,560 shares in the company, valued at $1,791,320.80. This trade represents a 5.95% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 43,646 shares of company stock worth $22,136,614. 0.56% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.