California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 7,884 Shares of Casey’s General Stores, Inc. $CASY

California Public Employees Retirement System lessened its holdings in shares of Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) by 8.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 82,253 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,884 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.22% of Casey’s General Stores worth $59,869,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Casey’s General Stores Price Performance

Shares of CASY opened at $859.12 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.62. Casey’s General Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $490.00 and a 1 year high of $927.85. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $822.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $732.81.

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

Casey’s General Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, August 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. This is an increase from Casey’s General Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Casey’s General Stores’s payout ratio is presently 11.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Casey’s General Stores

In other news, CFO Stephen P. Bramlage, Jr. sold 5,700 shares of Casey’s General Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $838.16, for a total value of $4,777,512.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 29,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,874,074.32. The trade was a 16.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $443,917.40. Following the sale, the director owned 3,042 shares in the company, valued at $2,547,918.36. The trade was a 14.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 30,243 shares of company stock valued at $24,421,877. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on CASY shares. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their price objective on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $1,032.00 to $995.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Casey’s General Stores from $719.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Casey’s General Stores from $794.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Casey’s General Stores from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Capital One Financial began coverage on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a report on Monday, June 22nd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $896.00 target price on the stock. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Casey’s General Stores presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $940.00.

Casey’s General Stores Profile

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.