Virtu Financial LLC Decreases Holdings in Casey's General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY)

Virtu Financial LLC cut its holdings in shares of Casey's General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY - Free Report) by 84.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,010 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,353 shares during the quarter. Virtu Financial LLC's holdings in Casey's General Stores were worth $379,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Casey's General Stores in the 3rd quarter valued at about $959,880,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in Casey's General Stores by 3,846.1% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 172,320 shares of the company's stock valued at $65,750,000 after acquiring an additional 176,920 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its stake in Casey's General Stores by 1,819.1% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 130,291 shares of the company's stock worth $48,959,000 after acquiring an additional 123,502 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Casey's General Stores by 281.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 164,656 shares of the company's stock worth $61,863,000 after acquiring an additional 121,488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridges Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Casey's General Stores by 110.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 177,190 shares of the company's stock valued at $67,609,000 after purchasing an additional 92,813 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.63% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Casey's General Stores

In other Casey's General Stores news, insider Katrina S. Lindsey sold 450 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $427.13, for a total value of $192,208.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,247 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $959,761.11. The trade was a 16.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Mike Spanos acquired 267 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $376.18 per share, with a total value of $100,440.06. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,594 shares in the company, valued at $975,810.92. The trade was a 11.47 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.56% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Casey's General Stores from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on 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. StockNews.com lowered Casey's General Stores from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Casey's General Stores from $403.00 to $428.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Gordon Haskett started coverage on shares of Casey's General Stores in a research note on Monday, November 4th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $400.00 price target on the stock. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $419.45.

Casey's General Stores Stock Performance

Shares of CASY stock traded down $3.12 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $421.39. The stock had a trading volume of 224,764 shares, compared to its average volume of 266,161. The stock's 50 day moving average is $406.89 and its 200 day moving average is $383.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.64 billion, a PE ratio of 29.37 and a beta of 0.80. Casey's General Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $268.07 and a twelve month high of $439.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.44.

Casey's General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY - Get Free Report) last issued 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 company had revenue of $3.95 billion for 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%. Casey's General Stores's revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.24 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Casey's General Stores, Inc. will post 14.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Casey's General Stores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. Casey's General Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.94%.

Casey's General Stores Profile

Casey's General Stores, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates convenience stores under the Casey's and Casey's General Store names. Its stores offer pizza, donuts, breakfast items, and sandwiches; and tobacco and nicotine products. The company's stores provide soft drinks, energy, water, sports drinks, juices, coffee, and tea and dairy products; beer, wine, and spirits; snacks, candy, packaged bakery, and other food items; ice, ice cream, meals, and appetizers; health and beauty aids, automotive products, electronic accessories, housewares, and pet supplies; and ATM, lotto/lottery, and prepaid cards.