Forsta AP Fonden Trims Position in Dollar Tree, Inc. (NASDAQ:DLTR)

Key Points

• Forsta AP Fonden reduced its position in Dollar Tree, Inc. by 9.2%, ending the quarter with 37,600 shares valued at approximately $2.82 million.
• Several hedge funds have increased their stakes in Dollar Tree, with Capital International Investors raising its holdings by an impressive 30.1% in the last quarter alone.
• Dollar Tree announced a $2.5 billion stock repurchase program, indicating management's belief that the stock is undervalued, allowing the company to buy back up to 11.5% of its shares.

Forsta AP Fonden lessened its position in shares of Dollar Tree, Inc. (NASDAQ:DLTR - Free Report) by 9.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 37,600 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,800 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden's holdings in Dollar Tree were worth $2,823,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Dollar Tree by 1.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,839,718 shares of the company's stock worth $1,789,648,000 after buying an additional 389,490 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Dollar Tree by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,920,748 shares of the company's stock worth $743,461,000 after acquiring an additional 533,920 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in Dollar Tree by 30.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,753,693 shares of the company's stock worth $656,000,000 after acquiring an additional 2,023,819 shares in the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. increased its holdings in Dollar Tree by 14.4% in the 4th quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 7,940,163 shares of the company's stock worth $595,036,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000,637 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its holdings in Dollar Tree by 382.7% in the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 6,524,870 shares of the company's stock worth $488,974,000 after acquiring an additional 5,173,238 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Dollar Tree from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Cfra Research raised shares of Dollar Tree to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Dollar Tree in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. They set a "hold" rating and a $106.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Dollar Tree from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Dollar Tree from $111.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $97.74.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Dollar Tree news, CMO Richard L. Mcneely sold 21,026 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.62, for a total transaction of $1,989,480.12. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 50,419 shares in the company, valued at $4,770,645.78. This trade represents a 29.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 6.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Dollar Tree Price Performance

Shares of DLTR stock opened at $114.29 on Tuesday. Dollar Tree, Inc. has a 52-week low of $60.49 and a 52-week high of $118.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.85 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.88. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $105.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $86.35.

Dollar Tree (NASDAQ:DLTR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 4th. The company reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.05. Dollar Tree had a positive return on equity of 19.36% and a negative net margin of 12.15%. The firm had revenue of $4.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.52 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.43 EPS. Dollar Tree's quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Dollar Tree, Inc. will post 5.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Dollar Tree declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, July 9th that permits the company to buyback $2.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 11.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

About Dollar Tree

Dollar Tree, Inc operates retail discount stores. The company operates in two segments, Dollar Tree and Family Dollar. The Dollar Tree segment offers merchandise at the fixed price of $ 1.25. It provides consumable merchandise, which includes everyday consumables, such as household paper and chemicals, food, candy, health, personal care products, and frozen and refrigerated food; variety merchandise comprising toys, durable housewares, gifts, stationery, party goods, greeting cards, softlines, arts and crafts supplies, and other items; and seasonal goods that include Christmas, Easter, Halloween, and Valentine's Day merchandise.

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