Merit Financial Group LLC Takes $457,000 Position in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 5,193 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $457,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DG. IMG Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Dollar General in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in Dollar General during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Dollar General during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Providence First Trust Co acquired a new stake in Dollar General during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Bogart Wealth LLC raised its stake in Dollar General by 279.8% during the 4th quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 490 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 361 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.77% of the company's stock.

Dollar General Price Performance

DG stock traded down $0.25 during trading on Friday, reaching $111.59. 2,319,249 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,094,144. The company has a market cap of $24.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.38, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.26. Dollar General Co. has a 52-week low of $66.43 and a 52-week high of $135.46. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $96.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $83.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a current ratio of 1.15.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 3rd. The company reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $10.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.25 billion. Dollar General had a net margin of 3.33% and a return on equity of 18.85%. The firm's revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.65 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Dollar General Co. will post 5.75 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, July 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 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 2.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 8th. Dollar General's dividend payout ratio is currently 45.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on DG. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Dollar General from $105.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Dollar General from a "reduce" rating to an "accumulate" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Dollar General from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $130.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price target on shares of Dollar General from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Dollar General in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Dollar General has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $109.04.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Dollar General news, EVP Emily C. Taylor sold 809 shares of Dollar General stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.72, for a total transaction of $76,628.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 48,532 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,596,951.04. The trade was a 1.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.