Private Advisor Group LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

Private Advisor Group LLC raised its position in shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) by 9.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,066 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 524 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Dollar General were worth $460,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of DG. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Dollar General during the third quarter worth $33,000. Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Dollar General by 279.8% during the fourth quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 490 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 361 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Dollar General by 126.4% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 498 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 278 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Dollar General during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new position in Dollar General in the fourth quarter valued at $48,000. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Dollar General news, Director Michael M. Calbert sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.27, for a total value of $451,620.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 120,322 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,056,636.94. This trade represents a 4.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Emily C. Taylor sold 4,740 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,575 shares in the company, valued at $1,206,128. The trade was a 23.33 % 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 Stock Down 3.2 %

Shares of NYSE DG opened at $71.77 on Tuesday. Dollar General Co. has a 12-month low of $66.43 and a 12-month high of $168.07. The company has a market cap of $15.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $73.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $80.63.

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

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 7th were paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 7th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.29%. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on DG. Bernstein Bank decreased their target price on Dollar General from $98.00 to $94.00 in a report on Friday, November 15th. Gordon Haskett lowered Dollar General from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Dollar General from $104.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Dollar General from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Dollar General from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Dollar General presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $96.04.

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.