Raymond James Financial Inc. Increases Position in Dollar General Corporation $DG

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its stake in Dollar General Corporation by 34.2% in the first quarter, owning 812,544 shares valued at approximately $71.4 million.
• Several hedge funds, including Ameriflex Group Inc. and Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp., have also increased their holdings in Dollar General, reflecting growing institutional interest with 91.77% of the stock owned by institutions.
• Dollar General recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.59 per share, representing a 2.1% yield, with a payout ratio of 45.04%.

Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Dollar General Corporation (NYSE:DG - Free Report) by 34.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 812,544 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 207,170 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.37% of Dollar General worth $71,447,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cresset Asset Management LLC raised its position in Dollar General by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 24,620 shares of the company's stock worth $2,165,000 after purchasing an additional 634 shares during the period. Ethic Inc. raised its position in Dollar General by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 14,587 shares of the company's stock worth $1,278,000 after purchasing an additional 1,018 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC raised its position in Dollar General by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 1,389,892 shares of the company's stock worth $122,213,000 after purchasing an additional 35,644 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc raised its position in Dollar General by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 139,284 shares of the company's stock worth $12,173,000 after purchasing an additional 69,642 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Dollar General by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,812,528 shares of the company's stock worth $159,339,000 after purchasing an additional 25,192 shares during the period. 91.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Dollar General

In related news, EVP Emily C. Taylor sold 1,969 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,563 shares in the company, valued at $5,261,619. This represents a 4.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen A. Reardon sold 6,438 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.56, for a total transaction of $718,223.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.56% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on DG shares. Loop Capital raised their target price on shares of Dollar General from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Cfra Research upgraded Dollar General to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Dollar General in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Raymond James Financial boosted their price target on Dollar General from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Gordon Haskett upgraded Dollar General from a "reduce" rating to an "accumulate" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $108.80.

Dollar General Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of DG stock traded up $0.3560 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $112.7560. 1,524,900 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,728,334. The stock's 50 day moving average is $112.18 and its 200-day moving average is $97.13. The company has a market cap of $24.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. Dollar General Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $66.43 and a fifty-two week high of $125.42.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $10.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.25 billion. Dollar General had a return on equity of 17.93% and a net margin of 2.81%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.65 earnings per share. Dollar General has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.200-5.800 EPS. Analysts predict that Dollar General Corporation will post 5.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 8th were given a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 8th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Dollar General's dividend payout ratio is 45.04%.

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.