Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) Shares Sold by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its stake in shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) by 73.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 247,862 shares of the company’s stock after selling 677,221 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.11% of Dollar General worth $20,962,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in DG. Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in Dollar General by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 10,878 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,690,000 after buying an additional 624 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in shares of Dollar General by 278.1% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 64,628 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,086,000 after acquiring an additional 47,534 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 41.2% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 16,185 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,526,000 after purchasing an additional 4,724 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Dollar General by 18.2% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,512 shares of the company’s stock worth $464,000 after purchasing an additional 542 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its position in shares of Dollar General by 81.3% during the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,249 shares of the company’s stock valued at $165,000 after buying an additional 560 shares during the period. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Dollar General Stock Performance

Shares of DG stock opened at $77.27 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $16.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.00, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.45. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $80.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $105.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. Dollar General Co. has a 12 month low of $72.12 and a 12 month high of $168.07.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Dollar General from $101.00 to $97.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Raymond James reduced their price target on shares of Dollar General from $150.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $154.00 to $102.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Telsey Advisory Group lowered Dollar General from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their target price for the company from $168.00 to $103.00 in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Dollar General from $90.00 to $80.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Warren F. Bryant bought 1,000 shares of Dollar General stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $80.83 per share, with a total value of $80,830.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 42,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,397,284.90. This trade represents a 2.44 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Steven R. Deckard sold 2,010 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.66, for a total value of $174,186.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 2,887 shares in the company, valued at $250,187.42. This represents a 41.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.49% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Dollar General

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.