Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Sells 2,745 Shares of Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P trimmed its position in shares of Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 87,906 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,745 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P owned approximately 0.24% of Casey’s General Stores worth $34,831,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new position in Casey’s General Stores in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Casey’s General Stores during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 24.2% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 149 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Casey’s General Stores in the fourth quarter valued at about $79,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its position in Casey’s General Stores by 32.9% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. 85.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CASY shares. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Casey’s General Stores from $460.00 to $450.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $438.00 price target on shares of Casey’s General Stores and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $450.00 price objective (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. StockNews.com cut Casey’s General Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 8th. Finally, Gordon Haskett upgraded Casey’s General Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Casey’s General Stores has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $423.09.

Insider Activity

In other Casey’s General Stores news, Director Mike Spanos bought 256 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $390.54 per share, for a total transaction of $99,978.24. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,356 shares in the company, valued at $1,310,652.24. This trade represents a 8.26 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.56% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Casey’s General Stores Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CASY opened at $430.69 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.88. Casey’s General Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $306.45 and a fifty-two week high of $445.17. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $412.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $402.34. The company has a market capitalization of $15.99 billion, a PE ratio of 30.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.87.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.57. The company had revenue of $3.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.74 billion. Casey’s General Stores had a net margin of 3.57% and a return on equity of 17.17%. Casey’s General Stores’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.33 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Casey’s General Stores, Inc. will post 13.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Casey’s General Stores Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 1st will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 1st. Casey’s General Stores’s dividend payout ratio is 13.94%.

Casey’s General Stores Company 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.