Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) Shares Sold by AQR Capital Management LLC

AQR Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) by 65.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,697 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,171 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Dollar General were worth $1,141,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of DG. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Dollar General by 15.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,071,820 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,408,514,000 after acquiring an additional 3,360,413 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in Dollar General by 11.3% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 20,790,023 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,244,491,000 after purchasing an additional 2,113,485 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Dollar General by 11.2% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 20,217,480 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,155,141,000 after buying an additional 2,031,593 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Dollar General in the 1st quarter worth $301,738,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in Dollar General by 148.6% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,280,020 shares of the company’s stock valued at $169,257,000 after buying an additional 765,206 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on DG. Bank of America dropped their target price on Dollar General from $118.00 to $95.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Dollar General from $130.00 to $97.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Telsey Advisory Group downgraded shares of Dollar General from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $168.00 to $103.00 in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Melius Research started coverage on shares of Dollar General in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Dollar General from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $170.00 to $100.00 in a report on Friday, August 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $109.15.

Dollar General Stock Up 0.1 %

Dollar General stock opened at $82.49 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $98.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $123.11. The stock has a market cap of $18.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.81, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.44. Dollar General Co. has a 52 week low of $77.96 and a 52 week high of $168.07. 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 (NYSE:DG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $10.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.37 billion. Dollar General had a return on equity of 20.62% and a net margin of 3.57%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.13 EPS. Dollar General’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Dollar General Co. will post 5.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 8th. Dollar General’s payout ratio is currently 36.65%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Roderick J. West sold 2,510 shares of Dollar General stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.25, for a total value of $208,957.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $762,819.75. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Warren F. Bryant purchased 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $80.40 per share, for a total transaction of $40,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 41,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,298,812. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Roderick J. West sold 2,510 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $762,819.75. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.49% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.