ING Groep NV Grows Position in Dollar Tree, Inc. (NASDAQ:DLTR)

Key Points

• ING Groep NV has increased its stake in Dollar Tree, Inc. by 23.7%, now holding 25,811 shares worth approximately $1.94 million as of the first quarter.
• Several institutional investors have also raised their positions in Dollar Tree, with LSV Asset Management increasing its stake by an impressive 275.8%.
• Dollar Tree's board has approved a $2.5 billion stock buyback program, signaling confidence that the company's stock is undervalued.

ING Groep NV grew its stake in shares of Dollar Tree, Inc. (NASDAQ:DLTR - Free Report) by 23.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 25,811 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,942 shares during the period. ING Groep NV's holdings in Dollar Tree were worth $1,938,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blair William & Co. IL grew its stake in Dollar Tree by 52.2% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 13,175 shares of the company's stock valued at $989,000 after acquiring an additional 4,518 shares in the last quarter. Argent Trust Co increased its stake in Dollar Tree by 36.1% in the 1st quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 4,575 shares of the company's stock worth $343,000 after acquiring an additional 1,213 shares during the last quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. increased its stake in Dollar Tree by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 58,674 shares of the company's stock worth $4,405,000 after acquiring an additional 1,520 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management raised its holdings in shares of Dollar Tree by 275.8% in the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 166,868 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,527,000 after acquiring an additional 122,468 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp boosted its position in shares of Dollar Tree by 54.9% during the 1st quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 145,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,885,000 after acquiring an additional 51,400 shares during the last quarter. 97.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on DLTR. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Dollar Tree in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $106.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Dollar Tree from $105.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Dollar Tree from $80.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $82.00 price target on Dollar Tree and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Dollar Tree from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $97.74.

Dollar Tree Stock Up 0.5%

DLTR stock traded up $0.61 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $117.77. The stock had a trading volume of 172,852 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,153,833. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market cap of $24.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.88. The business has a 50-day moving average of $104.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $85.57. Dollar Tree, Inc. has a 52-week low of $60.49 and a 52-week high of $117.88.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $4.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.52 billion. Dollar Tree had a negative net margin of 12.15% and a positive return on equity of 19.36%. Dollar Tree's quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.43 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Dollar Tree, Inc. will post 5.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Dollar Tree announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, July 9th that permits the company to buyback $2.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 11.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Dollar Tree

In other 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 completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 6.60% of the company's stock.

Dollar Tree Profile

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.