Fifth Third Bancorp Acquires 3,614 Shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG - Free Report) by 66.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,035 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,614 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp's holdings in Dollar General were worth $794,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DG. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in shares of Dollar General in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Dollar General in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Providence First Trust Co bought a new position in Dollar General in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new position in Dollar General during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 126.4% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 498 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.77% of the company's stock.

Dollar General Trading Up 1.8%

NYSE:DG opened at $113.64 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $25.01 billion, a PE ratio of 18.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $97.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $84.18. Dollar General Co. has a 12 month low of $66.43 and a 12 month high of $135.46.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 3rd. The company reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.32. The firm 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 18.85% and a net margin of 3.33%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.65 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Dollar General Co. will post 5.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 8th. Dollar General's payout ratio is 45.04%.

Insider Activity 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 41,646 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,646,027.76. The trade was a 13.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Emily C. Taylor sold 809 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.72, for a total transaction of $76,628.48. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 48,532 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,596,951.04. This represents a 1.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on DG. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Dollar General from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Dollar General from $85.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Dollar General from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Guggenheim upped their price target on Dollar General from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Cfra Research upgraded Dollar General to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Dollar General presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.

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