Highland Capital Management LLC Sells 260 Shares of Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY)

Highland Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,920 shares of the company’s stock after selling 260 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Casey’s General Stores were worth $4,723,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,046,830 shares of the company’s stock valued at $393,305,000 after purchasing an additional 38,226 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 18.7% during the 3rd 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. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 655,488 shares of the company’s stock valued at $246,335,000 after purchasing an additional 8,428 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Casey’s General Stores by 49.9% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 524,237 shares of the company’s stock valued at $204,861,000 after buying an additional 174,586 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Casey’s General Stores by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 273,332 shares of the company’s stock valued at $102,694,000 after buying an additional 702 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.63% of the company’s stock.

Casey’s General Stores Stock Performance

CASY opened at $419.59 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $408.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $391.22. The company has a market capitalization of $15.58 billion, a PE ratio of 29.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.82. Casey’s General Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $268.96 and a 1 year 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 0.49.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The company reported $4.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 return on equity of 17.17% and a net margin of 3.57%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.24 EPS. Research analysts expect that Casey’s General Stores, Inc. will post 13.94 EPS for the current year.

Casey’s General Stores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Casey’s General Stores’s payout ratio is 13.94%.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $959,761.11. This represents a 16.69 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mike Spanos purchased 500 shares of the 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 acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,097 shares in the company, valued at $1,228,765.72. This represents a 19.25 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on 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. StockNews.com lowered Casey’s General Stores from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on 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. 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 note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Casey’s General Stores from $451.00 to $454.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $424.00.

Casey’s General Stores Company 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.