Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Increases Stake in Dollar General Corporation (NYSE:DG)

Key Points

• Mediolanum International Funds Ltd increased its holdings in Dollar General by 4.8%, owning 271,677 shares worth approximately $23.4 million.
• Dollar General's latest earnings report showed earnings per share (EPS) of $1.78, exceeding the consensus estimate by $0.32, with quarterly revenue up 5.3% year-over-year.
• The company recently disclosed a quarterly dividend of $0.59, marking an annualized dividend yield of 2.19% and a dividend payout ratio of 45.04%.

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd lifted its position in Dollar General Corporation (NYSE:DG - Free Report) by 4.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 271,677 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 12,406 shares during the quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd owned about 0.12% of Dollar General worth $23,391,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of DG. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Dollar General during the first quarter valued at approximately $3,458,000. Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC raised its position in Dollar General by 50.1% during the first quarter. Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC now owns 90,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,914,000 after acquiring an additional 30,041 shares in the last quarter. Equitable Trust Co. raised its position in Dollar General by 972.2% during the first quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 236,593 shares of the company's stock valued at $20,804,000 after acquiring an additional 214,526 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Dollar General by 5,440.2% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,582,569 shares of the company's stock valued at $139,155,000 after acquiring an additional 1,554,004 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its position in Dollar General by 33.8% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 30,957 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,722,000 after acquiring an additional 7,814 shares in the last quarter. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 of the company's stock, valued at $5,261,619. This trade represents a 4.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Kathleen A. Reardon sold 6,438 shares of Dollar General stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.56, for a total transaction of $718,223.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 41,646 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,646,027.76. This represents a 13.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.56% of the company's stock.

Dollar General Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE DG traded down $0.97 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $105.88. 1,028,312 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,835,063. Dollar General Corporation has a 12 month low of $66.43 and a 12 month high of $126.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.20. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $109.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $91.79. The company has a market capitalization of $23.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.31.

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

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 8th were paid a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 8th. Dollar General's dividend payout ratio is currently 45.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Dollar General from $80.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on Dollar General from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Dollar General from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Cfra Research upgraded Dollar General to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Dollar General from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Dollar General has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $108.40.

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.