Equitable Trust Co. Increases Stock Position in Dollar General Corporation (NYSE:DG)

Key Points

• Equitable Trust Co. significantly increased its stake in Dollar General by 972.2% in Q1, now holding 236,593 shares worth approximately $20.8 million.
• Dollar General reported $10.44 billion in revenue for the most recent quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations and achieving year-over-year revenue growth of 5.3%.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.59, which translates to an annualized yield of 2.19% and a payout ratio of 45.04%.

Equitable Trust Co. grew its holdings in shares of Dollar General Corporation (NYSE:DG - Free Report) by 972.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 236,593 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 214,526 shares during the quarter. Dollar General accounts for approximately 1.2% of Equitable Trust Co.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Equitable Trust Co. owned 0.11% of Dollar General worth $20,804,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of DG. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Dollar General by 377.2% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 280,275 shares of the company's stock valued at $21,250,000 after buying an additional 221,542 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Dollar General by 27.5% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 165,917 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,580,000 after buying an additional 35,735 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Dollar General by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,231,285 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,913,036,000 after buying an additional 160,853 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its stake in shares of Dollar General by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 106,598 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,082,000 after buying an additional 4,733 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Dollar General by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 355,312 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,531,000 after buying an additional 20,513 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.77% of the company's stock.

Dollar General Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of DG traded up $0.28 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $106.09. 651,228 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,845,081. Dollar General Corporation has a 52-week low of $66.43 and a 52-week high of $126.98. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $109.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $91.69. The firm has a market cap of $23.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.31. 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 (NYSE:DG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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. Dollar General had a return on equity of 17.93% and a net margin of 2.81%. The company had revenue of $10.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.25 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.65 earnings per share. Dollar General's quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Dollar General Corporation will post 5.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 8th were given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 8th. Dollar General's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.04%.

Insider Transactions at Dollar General

In other news, 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 41,646 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,646,027.76. The trade was a 13.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Emily C. Taylor sold 1,969 shares of Dollar General stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total value of $222,497.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president 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. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on DG. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $120.00 price objective on shares of Dollar General in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Dollar General from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Gordon Haskett upgraded Dollar General from a "reduce" rating to an "accumulate" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Dollar General from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their target price for the company from $115.00 to $116.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Dollar General has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.