SG Americas Securities LLC Reduces Holdings in Casey's General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY)

SG Americas Securities LLC cut its position in shares of Casey's General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY - Free Report) by 87.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 335 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,304 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC's holdings in Casey's General Stores were worth $133,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Casey's General Stores in the third quarter valued at approximately $959,880,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Casey's General Stores by 49.9% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 524,237 shares of the company's stock valued at $204,861,000 after purchasing an additional 174,586 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $48,959,000 after purchasing an additional 123,502 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Casey's General Stores by 281.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 164,656 shares of the company's stock valued at $61,863,000 after purchasing an additional 121,488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Casey's General Stores by 18.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 758,804 shares of the company's stock valued at $285,090,000 after purchasing an additional 119,350 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 research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted 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 downgraded shares of Casey's General Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted 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 note on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $450.00 price target (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Casey's General Stores in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Casey's General Stores from $460.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $424.00.

Casey's General Stores Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CASY traded down $10.37 during trading on Friday, hitting $432.17. 270,776 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 255,901. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.12, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.83. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $284.57 and a 12-month high of $445.17. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $410.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $395.29.

Casey's General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The company reported $4.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.29 by $0.56. The firm 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%. Casey's General Stores's revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.24 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Casey's General Stores, Inc. will post 13.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Casey's General Stores Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Mike Spanos acquired 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 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 purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Katrina S. Lindsey sold 450 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $427.13, for a total transaction of $192,208.50. Following the transaction, the insider now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.56% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.