Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Sells 2,792 Shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. lessened its stake in shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG - Free Report) by 6.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 39,245 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,792 shares during the quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.'s holdings in Dollar General were worth $2,975,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in DG. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Dollar General by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 17,414 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,473,000 after purchasing an additional 1,333 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Dollar General in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Tidal Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Dollar General by 25.4% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 17,315 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,464,000 after buying an additional 3,504 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Dollar General by 17.6% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 69,173 shares of the company's stock worth $5,517,000 after acquiring an additional 10,333 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL bought a new position in Dollar General in the 3rd quarter worth about $263,000. 91.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Emily C. Taylor sold 809 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.72, for a total value of $76,628.48. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 48,532 shares in the company, valued at $4,596,951.04. This trade represents a 1.64 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.56% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Dollar General in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Dollar General from $108.00 to $95.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Barclays decreased their target price on Dollar General from $102.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Melius Research upgraded Dollar General from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Dollar General from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $101.00 in a research report on Monday, April 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Dollar General has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $94.75.

Dollar General Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:DG traded up $0.36 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $93.69. The stock had a trading volume of 3,587,901 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,923,210. The company has a quick ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. Dollar General Co. has a 12 month low of $66.43 and a 12 month high of $147.87. The company has a market capitalization of $20.61 billion, a PE ratio of 15.43, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.40. The firm's fifty day moving average is $84.97 and its 200 day moving average is $79.00.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $10.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.26 billion. Dollar General had a net margin of 3.33% and a return on equity of 18.85%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.83 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Dollar General Co. will post 5.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 8th were issued a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 8th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.52%. Dollar General's payout ratio is 46.18%.

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.