Dollar General Corporation (NYSE:DG) Stock Position Raised by Private Advisor Group LLC

Key Points

• Private Advisor Group LLC raised its position in Dollar General shares by 126.8% in the first quarter, accumulating 13,755 shares valued at approximately $1.21 million.
• Dollar General announced a quarterly dividend of $0.59 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 2.19% with a payout ratio of 45.04%.
• Equity analysts have significantly raised their price targets for Dollar General, with Raymond James Financial increasing it from $100 to $125 and giving a new "outperform" rating.

Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Dollar General Corporation (NYSE:DG - Free Report) by 126.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 13,755 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,689 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC's holdings in Dollar General were worth $1,210,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Dollar General by 377.2% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 280,275 shares of the company's stock valued at $21,250,000 after purchasing an additional 221,542 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Dollar General by 27.5% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 165,917 shares of the company's stock worth $12,580,000 after buying an additional 35,735 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its holdings in Dollar General by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 106,598 shares of the company's stock worth $8,082,000 after buying an additional 4,733 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Dollar General by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 355,312 shares of the company's stock worth $26,531,000 after buying an additional 20,513 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co boosted its position in shares of Dollar General by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 21,851 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,657,000 after purchasing an additional 2,319 shares during the period. 91.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Dollar General

In other news, EVP Emily C. Taylor sold 1,969 shares of the company'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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,563 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,261,619. This represents a 4.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen A. Reardon sold 6,438 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 41,646 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,646,027.76. The trade was a 13.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.56% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on DG shares. Raymond James Financial increased their price target on Dollar General from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Melius Research raised shares of Dollar General from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Loop Capital raised their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Dollar General from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Cfra Research upgraded shares of Dollar General to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $108.40.

Dollar General Stock Down 0.2%

DG opened at $107.56 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $109.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $91.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 1.23. Dollar General Corporation has a twelve month low of $66.43 and a twelve month high of $126.98. The firm has a market cap of $23.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.31.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 3rd. The company reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.32. Dollar General had a return on equity of 17.93% and a net margin of 2.81%. The business had revenue of $10.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.25 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.65 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Dollar General Corporation will post 5.75 EPS for the current year.

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 8th were paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 8th. Dollar General's payout ratio is currently 45.04%.

Dollar General Company 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.

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