Alberta Investment Management Corp Raises Holdings in Dollar Tree, Inc. (NASDAQ:DLTR)

Key Points

• Alberta Investment Management Corp increased its stake in Dollar Tree by 54.9%, acquiring a total of 145,000 shares valued at approximately $10.88 million.
• The company announced a $2.5 billion stock buyback program, allowing repurchase of up to 11.5% of its stock, indicating confidence in its market valuation.
• Dollar Tree reported a quarterly EPS of $1.26, surpassing estimates of $1.21, with revenues rising by 11.3% compared to the previous year.

Alberta Investment Management Corp boosted its holdings in Dollar Tree, Inc. (NASDAQ:DLTR - Free Report) by 54.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 145,000 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 51,400 shares during the period. Alberta Investment Management Corp owned about 0.07% of Dollar Tree worth $10,885,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Forum Financial Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Dollar Tree during the 4th quarter valued at $340,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Dollar Tree by 50.7% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,724 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,030,000 after purchasing an additional 4,619 shares during the period. McGinn Penninger Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Dollar Tree by 13.2% during the 1st quarter. McGinn Penninger Investment Management Inc. now owns 68,585 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,149,000 after purchasing an additional 8,015 shares during the period. Bastion Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Dollar Tree during the 1st quarter valued at $3,585,000. Finally, State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of Dollar Tree during the 4th quarter valued at $316,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Dollar Tree

In other news, CMO Richard L. Mcneely sold 21,026 shares of Dollar Tree stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.62, for a total value of $1,989,480.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 50,419 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,770,645.78. The trade was a 29.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 6.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on DLTR shares. Cfra Research upgraded Dollar Tree to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Dollar Tree from $111.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Dollar Tree from a "strong-buy" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Dollar Tree in a report on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $106.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on Dollar Tree from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Dollar Tree presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $97.74.

Dollar Tree Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:DLTR traded up $1.00 during trading on Monday, hitting $115.72. The stock had a trading volume of 3,290,810 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,223,185. Dollar Tree, Inc. has a 12 month low of $60.49 and a 12 month high of $116.50. The company has a market capitalization of $24.15 billion, a PE ratio of -8.35, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.88. The firm's fifty day moving average is $101.98 and its 200 day moving average is $84.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

Dollar Tree (NASDAQ:DLTR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, June 4th. The company reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.05. Dollar Tree had a positive return on equity of 19.36% and a negative net margin of 12.15%. The firm had revenue of $4.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.43 EPS. The business's revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Dollar Tree, Inc. will post 5.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dollar Tree announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, July 9th that permits the company to buyback $2.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 11.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Dollar Tree Company Profile

Dollar Tree, Inc operates retail discount stores. The company operates in two segments, Dollar Tree and Family Dollar. The Dollar Tree segment offers merchandise at the fixed price of $ 1.25. It provides consumable merchandise, which includes everyday consumables, such as household paper and chemicals, food, candy, health, personal care products, and frozen and refrigerated food; variety merchandise comprising toys, durable housewares, gifts, stationery, party goods, greeting cards, softlines, arts and crafts supplies, and other items; and seasonal goods that include Christmas, Easter, Halloween, and Valentine's Day merchandise.