Dollar General Corporation (NYSE:DG) Shares Bought by Pacer Advisors Inc.

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors Inc. significantly increased its stake in Dollar General Corporation by 5,440.2% in Q1, acquiring over 1.5 million shares valued at approximately $139.16 million.
• Dollar General recently reported better-than-expected earnings, posting $1.78 EPS for the quarter, surpassing the consensus estimate of $1.46, with a revenue of $10.44 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.59 per share, translating to an annualized dividend yield of 2.19%, with a payout ratio of 45.04%.

Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Dollar General Corporation (NYSE:DG - Free Report) by 5,440.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,582,569 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,554,004 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.72% of Dollar General worth $139,155,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Dollar General during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Dollar General during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. increased its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 66.7% during the 1st quarter. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. now owns 500 shares of the company's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased 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 valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC increased 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 valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.77% of the company's stock.

Dollar General Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of DG stock traded up $0.63 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $106.44. 431,140 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,843,935. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 1.23. Dollar General Corporation has a one year low of $66.43 and a one year high of $126.98. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $109.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $91.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.31.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 3rd. The company reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.32. Dollar General had a net margin of 2.81% and a return on equity of 17.93%. The business had revenue of $10.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.65 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Dollar General Corporation will post 5.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 8th were paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 8th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.22%. Dollar General's payout ratio is currently 45.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Dollar General news, EVP Kathleen A. Reardon sold 6,438 shares of Dollar General stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.56, for a total value of $718,223.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 41,646 shares in the company, valued at $4,646,027.76. The trade was a 13.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Emily C. Taylor sold 1,969 shares of Dollar General stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total value of $222,497.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,563 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,261,619. The trade was a 4.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.56% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on DG. Citigroup increased their price target on Dollar General from $101.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $120.00 price target on shares of Dollar General in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $120.00 price target on Dollar General in a report on Friday, May 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Dollar General from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price target for the company from $115.00 to $116.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on Dollar General from $105.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $108.40.

Dollar General Company 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.