First Merchants Corp Lowers Holdings in Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY)

First Merchants Corp decreased its holdings in Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,277 shares of the company’s stock after selling 142 shares during the period. First Merchants Corp’s holdings in Casey’s General Stores were worth $2,091,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Private Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in Casey’s General Stores by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 2,072 shares of the company’s stock valued at $778,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 22.5% in the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 158 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 24.2% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 149 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Casey’s General Stores by 3.1% during the third quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 991 shares of the company’s stock valued at $372,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in Casey’s General Stores by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,078 shares of the company’s stock valued at $405,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on CASY. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $451.00 to $454.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com lowered Casey’s General Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Gordon Haskett raised Casey’s General Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $450.00 target price (up from $400.00) on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $403.00 to $428.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Casey’s General Stores has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $424.00.

Casey’s General Stores Price Performance

Casey’s General Stores stock opened at $442.54 on Friday. Casey’s General Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $280.05 and a 12-month high of $443.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $409.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $394.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.43 billion, a PE ratio of 30.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.83.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, December 9th. The company reported $4.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.29 by $0.56. The business had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. Casey’s General Stores had a net margin of 3.57% and a return on equity of 17.17%. The firm’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 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Casey’s General Stores, Inc. will post 13.94 EPS for the current year.

Casey’s General Stores Dividend Announcement

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. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. Casey’s General Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.94%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Mike Spanos bought 500 shares of Casey’s General Stores stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $396.76 per share, with a total value 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. The trade was a 19.25 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Katrina S. Lindsey sold 450 shares of Casey’s General Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $427.13, for a total transaction of $192,208.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $959,761.11. This represents a 16.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Casey’s General Stores 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.