Whittier Trust Co. Buys 595 Shares of Casey's General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY)

Whittier Trust Co. boosted its stake in shares of Casey's General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY - Free Report) by 2.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,346 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 595 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co. owned about 0.08% of Casey's General Stores worth $12,303,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Casey's General Stores by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,799,104 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,505,319,000 after acquiring an additional 44,295 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Casey's General Stores by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,776,323 shares of the company's stock valued at $703,833,000 after acquiring an additional 31,131 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Casey's General Stores by 29.5% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 678,778 shares of the company's stock valued at $268,952,000 after acquiring an additional 154,541 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Casey's General Stores by 54,448.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 543,852 shares of the company's stock valued at $236,054,000 after acquiring an additional 542,855 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Casey's General Stores by 51.5% in 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 period. 85.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Casey's General Stores Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CASY traded down $2.13 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $515.67. The company's stock had a trading volume of 250,330 shares, compared to its average volume of 305,374. Casey's General Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $350.52 and a fifty-two week high of $546.50. The company has a market capitalization of $19.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.22 and a beta of 0.69. 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 simple moving average is $480.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $441.77.

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, 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 period last year, the company posted $2.34 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st will be given a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. This is a positive change from Casey's General Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. Casey's General Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CASY has been the subject of several research reports. Wall Street Zen raised Casey's General Stores from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 14th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on 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. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price 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. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Casey's General Stores from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Casey's General Stores from $385.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock 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 assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Casey's General Stores presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $465.25.

Insider Transactions at Casey's General Stores

In related news, insider Chad Michael Frazell sold 4,808 shares of Casey's General Stores 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Katrina S. Lindsey sold 2,000 shares of Casey's General Stores stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 43,646 shares of company stock valued at $22,136,614. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.