AQR Capital Management LLC Has $14.09 Million Holdings in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG - Free Report) by 268.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 185,765 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 135,356 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.08% of Dollar General worth $14,085,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Dollar General in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC grew its position in Dollar General by 16.3% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC now owns 28,827 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,186,000 after acquiring an additional 4,048 shares during the period. Leibman Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Dollar General in the 4th quarter worth about $2,018,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its position in Dollar General by 5,624.9% during the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 321,623 shares of the company's stock valued at $24,385,000 after buying an additional 316,005 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY purchased a new position in shares of Dollar General in the 4th quarter valued at $6,158,000. 91.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Dollar General Price Performance

Dollar General stock traded down $0.27 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $91.70. 2,185,058 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,948,983. Dollar General Co. has a 1-year low of $66.43 and a 1-year high of $147.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The business has a fifty day moving average of $87.30 and a 200 day moving average of $79.55. The company has a market capitalization of $20.17 billion, a PE ratio of 15.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.27.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 13th. The company reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.17. Dollar General had a return on equity of 18.85% and a net margin of 3.33%. The company had revenue of $10.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.83 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Dollar General Co. will post 5.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 8th were given a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 8th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.57%. Dollar General's payout ratio is 46.18%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on DG shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Dollar General from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Dollar General from $104.00 to $93.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Dollar General in a research note on Monday. Telsey Advisory Group restated a "market perform" rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Dollar General in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $80.00 price target (down previously from $90.00) on shares of Dollar General in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $95.16.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Emily C. Taylor sold 809 shares of Dollar General stock in a transaction on Friday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.72, for a total transaction of $76,628.48. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 48,532 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,596,951.04. The trade was a 1.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.56% of the company's stock.

Dollar General 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.