VELA Investment Management LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Casey's General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY)

VELA Investment Management LLC reduced its holdings in Casey's General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY - Free Report) by 60.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,572 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,876 shares during the period. VELA Investment Management LLC's holdings in Casey's General Stores were worth $1,116,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Natixis lifted its position in shares of Casey's General Stores by 21.9% during the fourth quarter. Natixis now owns 8,337 shares of the company's stock worth $3,303,000 after purchasing an additional 1,499 shares during the last quarter. Scholtz & Company LLC bought a new position in Casey's General Stores in the fourth quarter worth about $2,375,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC raised its stake in shares of Casey's General Stores by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 53,330 shares of the company's stock worth $21,131,000 after acquiring an additional 4,458 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in Casey's General Stores by 15.4% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 290,420 shares of the company's stock valued at $115,089,000 after acquiring an additional 38,684 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Casey's General Stores by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 276,529 shares of the company's stock valued at $109,569,000 after acquiring an additional 3,197 shares in the last quarter. 85.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. KeyCorp lifted their target price 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, June 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Casey's General Stores from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 14th. Evercore ISI boosted 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. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $490.00 target price on shares of Casey's General Stores in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Casey's General Stores has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $453.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Casey's General Stores

In other news, insider Katrina S. Lindsey sold 2,000 shares of Casey's General Stores stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $506.07, for a total transaction of $1,012,140.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Stephen P. Bramlage, Jr. sold 760 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 25,994 shares in the company, valued at $13,193,514.64. This represents a 2.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 43,646 shares of company stock valued at $22,136,614. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Casey's General Stores Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of CASY traded up $5.93 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $516.85. The stock had a trading volume of 173,672 shares, compared to its average volume of 303,081. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The business's fifty day moving average is $471.16 and its 200 day moving average is $435.39. Casey's General Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $350.52 and a 52-week high of $517.31. The firm has a market cap of $19.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.69.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.95 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.34 EPS. The business's revenue was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Casey's General Stores, Inc. will post 13.94 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. This is a boost from Casey's General Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. Casey's General Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.66%.

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.