Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) Shares Purchased by MML Investors Services LLC

MML Investors Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) by 7.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,505 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 329 shares during the quarter. MML Investors Services LLC’s holdings in Casey’s General Stores were worth $1,785,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of CASY. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Casey’s General Stores by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,799,104 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,505,319,000 after purchasing an additional 44,295 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Casey’s General Stores by 18.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 758,804 shares of the company’s stock valued at $285,090,000 after acquiring an additional 119,350 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Casey’s General Stores by 29.5% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 678,778 shares of the company’s stock valued at $268,952,000 after acquiring an additional 154,541 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Casey’s General Stores during the fourth quarter worth about $236,500,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 502,979 shares of the company’s stock worth $199,302,000 after purchasing an additional 17,539 shares during the period. 85.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on CASY shares. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Casey’s General Stores from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Royal Bank of Canada set a $438.00 price objective on shares of Casey’s General Stores and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Casey’s General Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 8th. KeyCorp assumed coverage on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $500.00 price target for the company. Finally, Gordon Haskett raised Casey’s General Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $430.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Casey’s General Stores news, Director Mike Spanos bought 256 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $390.54 per share, with a total value of $99,978.24. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,310,652.24. This trade represents a 8.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Katrina S. Lindsey sold 250 shares of Casey’s General Stores stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $437.01, for a total transaction of $109,252.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,067,615.43. This trade represents a 9.28 % 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 company insiders.

Casey’s General Stores Stock Performance

Casey’s General Stores stock opened at $463.40 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $424.73 and a 200-day moving average of $414.43. The stock has a market cap of $17.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.74. Casey’s General Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $313.67 and a 52 week high of $468.88.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.57. Casey’s General Stores had a net margin of 3.57% and a return on equity of 17.17%. The business had revenue of $3.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.74 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.33 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Casey’s General Stores, Inc. will post 13.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Casey’s General Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 1st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 1st. Casey’s General Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.94%.

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.