Natixis Advisors LLC Buys 61,269 Shares of Dollar Tree, Inc. (NASDAQ:DLTR)

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in Dollar Tree by 9.4%, acquiring an additional 61,269 shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately $53.43 million.
• Dollar Tree recently reported earnings per share of $1.26, exceeding estimates, and announced a $2.5 billion share buyback plan, indicating confidence in its stock value.
• Analyst opinions on Dollar Tree are mixed, with upgrades from Barclays and JPMorgan but a downgrade from Goldman Sachs, leading to an average rating of "Hold" with a consensus target price of $97.74.

Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in Dollar Tree, Inc. (NASDAQ:DLTR - Free Report) by 9.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 711,762 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 61,269 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned 0.33% of Dollar Tree worth $53,432,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Dollar Tree by 34,600.0% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 347 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 346 shares during the last quarter. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in Dollar Tree in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. CX Institutional bought a new stake in Dollar Tree in the first quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Dollar Tree in the first quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, GeoWealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Dollar Tree during the fourth quarter worth $61,000. 97.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Dollar Tree Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of Dollar Tree stock opened at $113.55 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.70 billion, a PE ratio of -8.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The firm's 50 day moving average is $101.45 and its 200 day moving average is $84.03. Dollar Tree, Inc. has a 1 year low of $60.49 and a 1 year high of $115.99.

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

Dollar Tree declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, July 9th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 11.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, CMO Richard L. Mcneely sold 21,026 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.62, for a total transaction of $1,989,480.12. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 50,419 shares in the company, valued at $4,770,645.78. The trade was a 29.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 6.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on DLTR. Barclays upgraded shares of Dollar Tree from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $95.00 to $138.00 in a report on Monday, July 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Dollar Tree from $111.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Dollar Tree from a "strong-buy" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of 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, Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Dollar Tree from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $97.74.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.