Geode Capital Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY)

Geode Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) by 0.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 654,842 shares of the company’s stock after selling 646 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Casey’s General Stores were worth $259,547,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 44,295 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Casey’s General Stores by 18.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 758,804 shares of the company’s stock worth $285,090,000 after purchasing an additional 119,350 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 29.5% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 678,778 shares of the company’s stock worth $268,952,000 after purchasing an additional 154,541 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Casey’s General Stores during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $236,500,000. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Casey’s General Stores during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $175,607,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.63% of the company’s stock.

Casey’s General Stores Price Performance

Shares of Casey’s General Stores stock opened at $415.82 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.98, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.74. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $416.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $405.02. Casey’s General Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $306.45 and a 12 month high of $458.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.49.

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

Casey’s General Stores Announces Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 1st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. Casey’s General Stores’s payout ratio is presently 13.94%.

Insider Activity at Casey’s General Stores

In related news, Director Mike Spanos bought 256 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $390.54 per share, for a total transaction of $99,978.24. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,356 shares in the company, valued at $1,310,652.24. This represents a 8.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.56% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $450.00 price target (up from $400.00) on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $438.00 target price 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 lowered Casey’s General Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 8th. Gordon Haskett upgraded Casey’s General Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Casey’s General Stores from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Casey’s General Stores presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $424.00.

Casey’s General Stores Profile

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.