Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) Shares Sold by Associated Banc Corp

Associated Banc Corp lowered its position in shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) by 22.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,923 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,093 shares during the period. Associated Banc Corp’s holdings in Dollar General were worth $2,023,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of DG. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Dollar General by 85.7% during the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 58,107 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,683,000 after acquiring an additional 26,813 shares in the last quarter. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Dollar General during the third quarter worth about $5,650,000. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 231.6% in the 3rd quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. now owns 37,462 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,168,000 after purchasing an additional 26,165 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in shares of Dollar General by 278.1% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 64,628 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,086,000 after purchasing an additional 47,534 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Dollar General by 62.9% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 166,574 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,087,000 after buying an additional 64,336 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Warren F. Bryant acquired 500 shares of Dollar General stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $80.40 per share, with a total value of $40,200.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 41,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,298,812. This represents a 1.23 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Roderick J. West sold 2,510 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.25, for a total value of $208,957.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,163 shares in the company, valued at $762,819.75. This trade represents a 21.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Dollar General Stock Up 2.2 %

Dollar General stock opened at $76.57 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 1.22. Dollar General Co. has a fifty-two week low of $72.12 and a fifty-two week high of $168.07. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $80.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $107.33.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $10.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.37 billion. Dollar General had a net margin of 3.57% and a return on equity of 20.62%. The business’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.13 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Dollar General Co. will post 5.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 8th were given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 8th. Dollar General’s payout ratio is 36.65%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on DG. Citigroup cut Dollar General from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $91.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Bernstein Bank decreased their price target on shares of Dollar General from $98.00 to $94.00 in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $118.00 to $95.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Dollar General from $169.00 to $122.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Dollar General in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $98.00 price objective for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Dollar General presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $104.00.

Dollar General Company Profile

Dollar General Corporation, a discount retailer, provides various merchandise products in the southern, southwestern, midwestern, and eastern United States. It offers consumable products, including paper and cleaning products, such as paper towels, bath tissues, paper dinnerware, trash and storage bags, disinfectants, and laundry products; packaged food comprising cereals, pasta, canned soups, fruits and vegetables, condiments, spices, sugar, and flour; and perishables that include milk, eggs, bread, refrigerated and frozen food, beer, and wine.