State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Sells 45,532 Shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lowered its holdings in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) by 36.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 80,674 shares of the company’s stock after selling 45,532 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Dollar General were worth $10,668,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Burkett Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Dollar General in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in Dollar General in the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Fortis Group Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Dollar General by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 200 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in Dollar General during the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Dollar General in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. 91.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Dollar General Stock Up 1.9 %

Dollar General stock opened at $84.75 on Friday. Dollar General Co. has a 1-year low of $77.96 and a 1-year high of $168.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.44. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $112.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $132.04. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.13 EPS. Dollar General’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Dollar General Co. will post 5.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 8th will be given a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 8th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.78%. Dollar General’s payout ratio is currently 34.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Raymond James decreased 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. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Dollar General from $169.00 to $122.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 30th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Dollar General from $145.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Dollar General from $154.00 to $102.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Dollar General from $147.00 to $141.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Dollar General presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $113.95.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Roderick J. West sold 2,510 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.25, for a total transaction of $208,957.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $762,819.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Dollar General news, Director Warren F. Bryant acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $80.83 per share, for a total transaction of $80,830.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 42,030 shares in the company, valued at $3,397,284.90. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Roderick J. West sold 2,510 shares of the company’s 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 approximately $762,819.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

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.