Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Decreases Stake in Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund reduced its stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) by 10.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,973 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,772 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Casey’s General Stores were worth $5,933,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in Casey’s General Stores during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Casey’s General Stores in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 941.7% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position in Casey’s General Stores by 24.2% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 149 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in Casey’s General Stores in the third quarter valued at approximately $76,000. 85.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Casey’s General Stores

In related news, Director Mike Spanos bought 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $396.76 per share, with a total value of $198,380.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,097 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,228,765.72. This represents a 19.25 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $192,208.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $959,761.11. This trade represents a 16.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Casey’s General Stores Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of Casey’s General Stores stock opened at $416.00 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $15.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a 50 day moving average of $410.15 and a 200 day moving average of $397.79. Casey’s General Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $290.00 and a 52-week high of $445.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The company reported $4.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.29 by $0.56. The company had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. Casey’s General Stores had a return on equity of 17.17% and a net margin of 3.57%. Casey’s General Stores’s quarterly revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.24 earnings per share. As a group, 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. Casey’s General Stores’s payout ratio is 13.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI raised 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 report on Friday, December 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $451.00 to $454.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Casey’s General Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Casey’s General Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $403.00 to $428.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $424.00.

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.