Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Buys 3,917 Shares of Dollar General Corporation (NYSE:DG)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its stake in Dollar General Corporation (NYSE:DG - Free Report) by 0.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 497,549 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 3,917 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned 0.23% of Dollar General worth $43,749,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Diversified Trust Co lifted its stake in Dollar General by 17.1% in the first quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 5,609 shares of the company's stock valued at $493,000 after purchasing an additional 821 shares during the last quarter. Sabal Trust CO raised its stake in shares of Dollar General by 27.6% in the first quarter. Sabal Trust CO now owns 10,642 shares of the company's stock valued at $936,000 after buying an additional 2,302 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its position in shares of Dollar General by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 27,567 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,424,000 after buying an additional 1,102 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Dollar General by 23.8% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,759 shares of the company's stock valued at $594,000 after buying an additional 1,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. grew its stake in shares of Dollar General by 108.4% during the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 896 shares of the company's stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 466 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.77% of the company's stock.

Dollar General Price Performance

DG traded down $1.16 on Thursday, reaching $114.31. The company had a trading volume of 2,041,983 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,095,665. Dollar General Corporation has a 52-week low of $66.43 and a 52-week high of $135.46. The company has a market cap of $25.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.31. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $102.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $86.93.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 3rd. The company reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm 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 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Dollar General Corporation will post 5.75 EPS for the current year.

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 8th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 8th. Dollar General's payout ratio is currently 45.04%.

Insider Transactions at Dollar General

In related news, EVP Kathleen A. Reardon sold 6,438 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.56, for a total transaction of $718,223.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 41,646 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,646,027.76. This trade represents a 13.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Emily C. Taylor sold 1,969 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total value of $222,497.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 46,563 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,261,619. This represents a 4.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,216 shares of company stock valued at $1,017,349 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on DG. KeyCorp restated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Dollar General in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $120.00 price target on shares of Dollar General in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Dollar General from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price target for the company from $115.00 to $116.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Cfra Research upgraded Dollar General to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned 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 an average price target of $109.08.

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.