Calamos Advisors LLC Sells 329 Shares of Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY)

Calamos Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) by 21.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,182 shares of the company’s stock after selling 329 shares during the period. Calamos Advisors LLC’s holdings in Casey’s General Stores were worth $468,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of CASY. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Casey’s General Stores by 3.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,046,830 shares of the company’s stock valued at $393,305,000 after acquiring an additional 38,226 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Casey’s General Stores by 18.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 758,804 shares of the company’s stock valued at $285,090,000 after purchasing an additional 119,350 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Casey’s General Stores by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 655,488 shares of the company’s stock valued at $246,335,000 after purchasing an additional 8,428 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Casey’s General Stores by 49.9% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 524,237 shares of the company’s stock valued at $204,861,000 after purchasing an additional 174,586 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Casey’s General Stores by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 273,332 shares of the company’s stock valued at $102,694,000 after purchasing an additional 702 shares during the period. 85.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Mike Spanos bought 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $396.76 per share, with a total value of $198,380.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 3,097 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,228,765.72. This trade represents a 19.25 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Katrina S. Lindsey sold 450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $427.13, for a total transaction of $192,208.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 2,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $959,761.11. This represents a 16.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CASY. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Casey’s General Stores from $451.00 to $454.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $460.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Gordon Haskett started coverage on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a report on Monday, November 4th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $400.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $403.00 to $428.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $450.00 target price (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $424.00.

Casey’s General Stores Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of CASY opened at $429.42 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market cap of $15.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.83. Casey’s General Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $272.46 and a 12 month high of $439.68. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $408.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $392.76.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, December 9th. The company reported $4.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.29 by $0.56. Casey’s General Stores had a net margin of 3.57% and a return on equity of 17.17%. The firm had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.24 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities 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 Monday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Casey’s General Stores’s dividend payout ratio is 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.