Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Sells 18,250 Shares of Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY)

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. lowered its stake in Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) by 8.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 187,422 shares of the company’s stock after selling 18,250 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. owned approximately 0.51% of Casey’s General Stores worth $71,513,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Congress Asset Management Co. MA bought a new stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores in the first quarter valued at about $112,081,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 195.8% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 3,488 shares of the company’s stock worth $958,000 after purchasing an additional 2,309 shares during the period. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $903,000. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Casey’s General Stores in the 4th quarter valued at $8,498,000. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores during the 1st quarter valued at $794,000. 85.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Casey’s General Stores Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of CASY stock opened at $368.00 on Monday. Casey’s General Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $260.13 and a twelve month high of $401.07. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $374.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $348.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.80.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 4th. The company reported $4.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.54 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $4.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.15 billion. Casey’s General Stores had a return on equity of 17.07% and a net margin of 3.40%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.52 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Casey’s General Stores, Inc. will post 14.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Casey’s General Stores Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. Casey’s General Stores’s payout ratio is currently 14.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CASY has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $420.00 to $444.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $410.00 price target on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $305.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. Northcoast Research raised Casey’s General Stores from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $410.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Casey’s General Stores from $410.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Casey’s General Stores presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $404.90.

Insider Transactions at Casey’s General Stores

In related news, insider Thomas P. Brennan, Jr. sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.24, for a total value of $1,140,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,044 shares in the company, valued at $3,438,890.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Casey’s General Stores news, insider Thomas P. Brennan, Jr. sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.24, for a total transaction of $1,140,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 9,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,438,890.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Mike Spanos purchased 267 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $376.18 per share, with a total value of $100,440.06. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,594 shares in the company, valued at approximately $975,810.92. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.47% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Casey’s General Stores

Casey's General Stores, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates convenience stores under the Casey's and Casey's General Store names. Its stores offer pizza, donuts, breakfast items, and sandwiches; and tobacco and nicotine products. The company's stores provide soft drinks, energy, water, sports drinks, juices, coffee, and tea and dairy products; beer, wine, and spirits; snacks, candy, packaged bakery, and other food items; ice, ice cream, meals, and appetizers; health and beauty aids, automotive products, electronic accessories, housewares, and pet supplies; and ATM, lotto/lottery, and prepaid cards.