Praxis Investment Management Inc. Buys New Stake in Dollar General Corporation (NYSE:DG)

Praxis Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Dollar General Corporation (NYSE:DG - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 3,010 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $265,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Eagle Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Dollar General during the fourth quarter valued at $399,433,000. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC increased its holdings in Dollar General by 8,426.1% in the fourth quarter. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC now owns 4,041,471 shares of the company's stock valued at $306,424,000 after buying an additional 3,994,070 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Dollar General in the fourth quarter valued at $140,421,000. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its stake in shares of Dollar General by 323.1% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 2,354,135 shares of the company's stock worth $178,491,000 after purchasing an additional 1,797,776 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Dollar General by 14.9% during the fourth quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 11,767,336 shares of the company's stock worth $892,199,000 after purchasing an additional 1,528,450 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.77% of the company's stock.

Dollar General Stock Up 3.1%

Dollar General stock traded up $3.48 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $114.99. 3,961,448 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,100,116. The company has a market cap of $25.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.26. Dollar General Corporation has a twelve month low of $66.43 and a twelve month high of $135.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a fifty day moving average of $99.44 and a 200-day moving average of $85.11.

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

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 8th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. Dollar General's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on DG shares. Oppenheimer raised shares of Dollar General from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $130.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of Dollar General from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Dollar General from $100.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Dollar General from a "reduce" rating to an "accumulate" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Dollar General in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $109.04.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Dollar General news, EVP Kathleen A. Reardon sold 6,438 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.56, for a total value of $718,223.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 41,646 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,646,027.76. This represents a 13.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Emily C. Taylor sold 1,969 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total transaction of $222,497.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 46,563 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,261,619. This represents a 4.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,216 shares of company stock worth $1,017,349 in the last ninety days. 0.56% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Dollar General 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.