Marks Group Wealth Management Inc Sells 3,672 Shares of Casey’s General Stores, Inc. $CASY

Marks Group Wealth Management Inc lowered its stake in Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) by 30.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,359 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,672 shares during the quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc’s holdings in Casey’s General Stores were worth $6,084,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 179,938.2% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,659,164 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,469,747,000 after purchasing an additional 2,657,687 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Casey’s General Stores by 40.9% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,068,682 shares of the company’s stock valued at $590,671,000 after purchasing an additional 310,470 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Casey’s General Stores by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 760,438 shares of the company’s stock valued at $420,416,000 after buying an additional 52,250 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Casey’s General Stores by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 572,152 shares of the company’s stock valued at $316,234,000 after buying an additional 64,154 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Casey’s General Stores during the fourth quarter worth about $265,163,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stephens set a $975.00 target price on Casey’s General Stores and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Capital One Financial initiated coverage on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $896.00 price target on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and set a $1,000.00 price objective on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $794.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Casey’s General Stores to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $940.00.

Casey’s General Stores Stock Down 4.6%

NASDAQ:CASY opened at $808.49 on Thursday. Casey’s General Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $490.00 and a 1 year high of $927.85. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $823.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $728.93. The stock has a market cap of $29.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.20, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 9th. The company reported $4.37 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.31 by $1.06. Casey’s General Stores had a return on equity of 18.73% and a net margin of 4.07%.The company had revenue of $4.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.63 earnings per share. Casey’s General Stores’s revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Casey’s General Stores, Inc. will post 21.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Casey’s General Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Saturday, August 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. This is a positive change from Casey’s General Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Casey’s General Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.57%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Allison M. Wing sold 530 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $837.58, for a total transaction of $443,917.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,042 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,547,918.36. This represents a 14.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Chad Michael Frazell sold 3,013 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $787.49, for a total transaction of $2,372,707.37. Following the sale, the insider owned 9,823 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,735,514.27. The trade was a 23.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 30,243 shares of company stock worth $24,421,877. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

About Casey’s General Stores

Casey’s General Stores, Inc (NASDAQ: CASY) is a U.S.-based convenience store chain that operates retail fuel stations and food-focused convenience outlets. Founded in 1959 in Boone, Iowa, the company has grown from a single neighborhood store into a regional operator known for combining traditional convenience retailing—fuel, packaged goods and tobacco—with a larger emphasis on fresh and prepared foods.

The company’s stores typically offer gasoline and diesel alongside a range of grocery essentials, grab-and-go items and made-to-order foodservice.