Banque Pictet & Cie SA Raises Stock Position in Dollar General Corporation (NYSE:DG)

Banque Pictet & Cie SA boosted its stake in shares of Dollar General Corporation (NYSE:DG - Free Report) by 12.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 140,842 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 15,625 shares during the period. Banque Pictet & Cie SA owned 0.06% of Dollar General worth $12,384,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in Dollar General during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Dollar General during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new position in Dollar General during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Dollar General during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Dollar General by 170.1% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 543 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. 91.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Dollar General Trading Up 0.7%

DG traded up $0.77 on Friday, reaching $113.03. 2,211,781 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,127,866. Dollar General Corporation has a one year low of $66.43 and a one year high of $132.48. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $105.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $88.87. The company has a market cap of $24.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 3rd. The company reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.32. Dollar General had a net margin of 2.81% and a return on equity of 17.93%. The company had revenue of $10.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.65 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Dollar General Corporation will post 5.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 8th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 8th. Dollar General's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on DG. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Dollar General from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their target price for the company from $115.00 to $116.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $85.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $100.00 to $119.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $80.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $109.46.

Insider Transactions at Dollar General

In other Dollar General news, EVP Kathleen A. Reardon sold 6,438 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.56, for a total transaction of $718,223.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 41,646 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,646,027.76. This trade represents a 13.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Emily C. Taylor sold 1,969 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total transaction of $222,497.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 46,563 shares in the company, valued at $5,261,619. This trade represents a 4.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.56% 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.