3,872 Shares in Dollar General Corporation (NYSE:DG) Acquired by Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.

Key Points

• Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. has invested approximately $341,000 in Dollar General Corporation, acquiring 3,872 shares in the first quarter.
• Recent analyst reports show a mixed sentiment, with JPMorgan Chase raising its price target to $95 and UBS Group increasing it to $128, while the consensus rating for the stock remains at "Hold" with a target of $108.40.
• Dollar General recently reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.78 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.59 on a 2.2% yield.

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Dollar General Corporation (NYSE:DG - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 3,872 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $341,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in Dollar General during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Dollar General in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. raised its holdings in Dollar General by 66.7% during the 1st quarter. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. now owns 500 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Dollar General by 170.1% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 543 shares of the company's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC raised its holdings in Dollar General by 39.4% in the 1st quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 570 shares of the company's stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.77% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on DG shares. Loop Capital increased their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Dollar General from $80.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective 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 lifted their price objective on Dollar General from $85.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Dollar General from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $108.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Emily C. Taylor sold 1,969 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 17th. The stock was 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 directly owned 46,563 shares in the company, valued at $5,261,619. This trade represents a 4.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Kathleen A. Reardon sold 6,438 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.56, for a total value of $718,223.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 41,646 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,646,027.76. This trade represents a 13.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.56% of the company's stock.

Dollar General Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DG traded up $3.64 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $108.54. 4,216,646 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,705,135. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $110.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $92.71. Dollar General Corporation has a 1 year low of $66.43 and a 1 year high of $126.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 1.23. The company has a market cap of $23.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.71, a PEG ratio of 2.66 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 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $10.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.25 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.65 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Dollar General Corporation will post 5.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 8th were issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 8th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Dollar General's dividend payout ratio is currently 45.04%.

About Dollar General

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.