Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Cuts Stake in Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 122,075 shares of the company’s stock after selling 588 shares during the quarter. Casey’s General Stores makes up 0.8% of Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. owned approximately 0.33% of Casey’s General Stores worth $46,579,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new position in Casey’s General Stores during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $4,357,000. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Casey’s General Stores during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,657,000. Inspire Investing LLC grew its holdings in Casey’s General Stores by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 6,891 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,629,000 after buying an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. MQS Management LLC purchased a new position in Casey’s General Stores during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $259,000. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Casey’s General Stores by 15.3% during the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 2,107 shares of the company’s stock valued at $804,000 after buying an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.63% of the company’s stock.

Casey’s General Stores Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CASY opened at $365.23 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $374.68 and its 200 day moving average is $346.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.44. Casey’s General Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $260.13 and a 1 year high of $401.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.80.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 4th. The company reported $4.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.54 by $0.29. Casey’s General Stores had a net margin of 3.40% and a return on equity of 17.07%. The firm had revenue of $4.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.52 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Casey’s General Stores, Inc. will post 14.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Casey’s General Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. Casey’s General Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Darren M. Rebelez sold 13,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $374.54, for a total value of $5,056,290.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 73,838 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,655,284.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Casey’s General Stores news, insider Thomas P. Brennan, Jr. sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now owns 9,044 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,438,890.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Darren M. Rebelez sold 13,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $374.54, for a total value of $5,056,290.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 73,838 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,655,284.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.47% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Casey’s General Stores from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $300.00 to $337.00 in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com cut Casey’s General Stores from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Casey’s General Stores from $393.00 to $403.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Casey’s General Stores from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Casey’s General Stores from $420.00 to $444.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $404.90.

Casey’s General Stores Profile

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.