Casey's Chairman to Sell Some Shares

ANKENY, Iowa -- Casey's General Stores Inc. Chairman Donald Lamberti established a prearranged trading program to sell 451,500 shares of the company's common stock over the next six months.

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the company said Lamberti plans to sell 3,500 shares a day between Jan. 9 and July 15.

Casey's said the transactions are subject to a trading limit price, which wasn't disclosed in the filing. Proxy materials the company filed with the SEC in August showed Lamberti beneficially owned 4.2 million Casey's common shares, or an 8.57 percent stake, as of Aug. 8.

Jim Shaffer, Casey's chief financial officer, told CSNews Online the decision by Lamberti is an effort to "diversify" his holdings, which are "very concentrated in Casey's stock," and not a prelude to a bigger announcement.

Casey's said it amended its insider trading policy in December to allow officers and other insiders to establish trading plans, which allows corporate insiders to set up prearranged plans to sell a specified number of shares over a predetermined amount of time.

Ankeny, Iowa-based Casey's operates a chain of more than 1,200 convenience stores.