National Pension Service Cuts Position in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

National Pension Service lessened its holdings in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) by 24.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 363,725 shares of the company’s stock after selling 118,419 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned about 0.17% of Dollar General worth $27,578,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Metis Global Partners LLC grew its holdings in Dollar General by 2.0% in the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 7,042 shares of the company’s stock worth $596,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its stake in shares of Dollar General by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,884 shares of the company’s stock worth $143,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its stake in shares of Dollar General by 2.0% in the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 7,768 shares of the company’s stock worth $657,000 after buying an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Dollar General by 20.3% in the fourth quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 953 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Peoples Bank KS lifted its stake in shares of Dollar General by 19.1% in the fourth quarter. Peoples Bank KS now owns 1,435 shares of the company’s stock worth $109,000 after buying an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Dollar General

In related news, Director Michael M. Calbert sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.27, for a total transaction of $451,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 120,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,056,636.94. This trade represents a 4.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Emily C. Taylor sold 4,740 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.44, for a total transaction of $367,065.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,206,128. The trade was a 23.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Dollar General Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DG opened at $74.25 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $73.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $81.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.15. The stock has a market cap of $16.33 billion, a PE ratio of 12.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.43. Dollar General Co. has a 1 year low of $66.43 and a 1 year high of $168.07.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $10.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.14 billion. Dollar General had a return on equity of 18.85% and a net margin of 3.33%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.26 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Dollar General Co. will post 5.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th were paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 7th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.18%. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Dollar General from $97.00 to $82.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Dollar General from $97.00 to $95.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $102.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Gordon Haskett downgraded shares of Dollar General from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $96.77.

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.