Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Has $868,000 Stock Position in Dollar General Corporation (NYSE:DG)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. increased its stake in Dollar General Corporation (NYSE:DG - Free Report) by 134.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,871 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 5,653 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Dollar General were worth $868,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. IMG Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Dollar General during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in Dollar General during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in Dollar General during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Providence First Trust Co bought a new stake in Dollar General during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Dollar General during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Institutional investors own 91.77% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Dollar General news, EVP Emily C. Taylor sold 1,969 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total transaction of $222,497.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 46,563 shares in the company, valued at $5,261,619. This trade represents a 4.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen A. Reardon sold 6,438 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.56, for a total value of $718,223.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 41,646 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,646,027.76. This trade represents a 13.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,216 shares of company stock worth $1,017,349. Insiders own 0.56% of the company's stock.

Dollar General Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of DG traded down $0.84 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $111.47. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,972,260 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,100,673. The firm has a market cap of $24.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.26. Dollar General Corporation has a 1-year low of $66.43 and a 1-year high of $135.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a 50 day moving average of $99.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $85.11.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $10.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.25 billion. Dollar General had a return on equity of 17.93% and a net margin of 2.81%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.65 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Dollar General Corporation will post 5.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The company 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 $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 8th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.12%. Dollar General's dividend payout ratio is currently 45.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Melius upgraded shares of Dollar General from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $110.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "hold" rating and set a $80.00 price target (down previously from $90.00) on shares of Dollar General in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Raymond James Financial upped their price target on shares of Dollar General from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Telsey Advisory Group upped 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 report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Dollar General from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $130.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Dollar General currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $109.04.

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.