Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 11,936 Shares of Casey's General Stores, Inc. $CASY

Russell Investments Group Ltd. decreased its stake in shares of Casey's General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY - Free Report) by 27.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,193 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,936 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.08% of Casey's General Stores worth $13,539,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Casey's General Stores by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,776,323 shares of the company's stock worth $703,833,000 after acquiring an additional 31,131 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Casey's General Stores by 42.0% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,036,426 shares of the company's stock worth $449,851,000 after acquiring an additional 306,628 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Casey's General Stores by 54,448.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 543,852 shares of the company's stock worth $236,054,000 after purchasing an additional 542,855 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Casey's General Stores by 51.5% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 515,603 shares of the company's stock worth $223,792,000 after purchasing an additional 175,372 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Casey's General Stores by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 502,979 shares of the company's stock worth $199,302,000 after purchasing an additional 17,539 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.63% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Casey's General Stores news, CFO Stephen P. Bramlage, Jr. sold 760 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $507.56, for a total transaction of $385,745.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 25,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,193,514.64. The trade was a 2.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Darren M. Rebelez sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $507.83, for a total transaction of $10,156,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 89,840 shares in the company, valued at $45,623,447.20. The trade was a 18.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 43,646 shares of company stock worth $22,136,614. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Casey's General Stores Price Performance

Shares of Casey's General Stores stock traded down $5.7020 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $507.6880. 100,885 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 348,947. The stock has a market cap of $18.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.67 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.92. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $515.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $462.04. Casey's General Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $350.52 and a 12 month high of $531.24.

Casey's General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, June 9th. The company reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.69. The company had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.95 billion. Casey's General Stores had a net margin of 3.43% and a return on equity of 16.28%. The firm's revenue was up 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.34 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st were issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. This is a positive change from Casey's General Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Casey's General Stores's payout ratio is presently 15.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on CASY shares. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $490.00 target price on shares of Casey's General Stores in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Casey's General Stores from $385.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Casey's General Stores from $460.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Casey's General Stores from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Casey's General Stores from $450.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $467.33.

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.