Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 14,056 Shares of Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY)

Retirement Systems of Alabama cut its holdings in Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) by 20.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 56,025 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,056 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Casey’s General Stores were worth $22,199,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CASY. Soros Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Casey’s General Stores by 1,825.6% in the third quarter. Soros Capital Management LLC now owns 27,632 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,382,000 after buying an additional 26,197 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 14,725 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,532,000 after acquiring an additional 1,332 shares in the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired a new position in shares of Casey’s General Stores during the 3rd quarter valued at $23,294,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Casey’s General Stores by 18.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 758,804 shares of the company’s stock worth $285,090,000 after acquiring an additional 119,350 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its holdings in Casey’s General Stores by 3.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,046,830 shares of the company’s stock worth $393,305,000 after purchasing an additional 38,226 shares during the period. 85.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Casey’s General Stores

In related news, Director Mike Spanos purchased 500 shares of Casey’s General Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $396.76 per share, for a total transaction of $198,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,097 shares in the company, valued at $1,228,765.72. This represents a 19.25 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Katrina S. Lindsey sold 450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $427.13, for a total transaction of $192,208.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 2,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $959,761.11. This trade represents a 16.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CASY has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $451.00 to $454.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Casey’s General Stores from $403.00 to $428.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Casey’s General Stores from $460.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $450.00 target price (up from $400.00) on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Casey’s General Stores from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $424.00.

Casey’s General Stores Stock Performance

Shares of CASY stock opened at $435.27 on Friday. Casey’s General Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $274.81 and a one year high of $439.68. The company has a market cap of $16.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.83. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $408.61 and a 200-day moving average of $393.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.49.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last posted its earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The company reported $4.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.29 by $0.56. The firm had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. Casey’s General Stores had a net margin of 3.57% and a return on equity of 17.17%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.24 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Casey’s General Stores, Inc. will post 13.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Casey’s General Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. Casey’s General Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.94%.

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.