Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Sells 29,810 Shares of Dollar Tree, Inc. $DLTR

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group trimmed its Dollar Tree holding by 5.5%, selling 29,810 shares to finish the quarter with 511,211 shares (about 0.26% of the company) worth roughly $62.9 million, while institutional investors own ~97.4% of the stock.
• Analysts are divided on DLTR: the consensus rating is "Hold" with a $123.24 target, based on 8 Buy, 9 Hold and 7 Sell recommendations.
• Dollar Tree beat Q4 EPS estimates ($2.56 vs. $2.53) and revenue rose 9% YoY to $5.45 billion, but shares trade around $100.67—below the consensus target and its 50-/200-day averages (~$115.80/$113.89).

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Dollar Tree, Inc. (NASDAQ:DLTR - Free Report) by 5.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 511,211 shares of the company's stock after selling 29,810 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.26% of Dollar Tree worth $62,884,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Dollar Tree by 2.9% during the third quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 11,138,183 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,051,110,000 after acquiring an additional 312,382 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Dollar Tree by 3.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,421,856 shares of the company's stock worth $889,141,000 after purchasing an additional 319,938 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA grew its stake in shares of Dollar Tree by 6.8% in the third quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 4,194,049 shares of the company's stock worth $395,792,000 after purchasing an additional 268,539 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in shares of Dollar Tree by 4.8% in the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 3,926,586 shares of the company's stock worth $370,552,000 after purchasing an additional 180,364 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Dollar Tree by 6.6% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,679,797 shares of the company's stock valued at $252,892,000 after purchasing an additional 165,732 shares during the period. 97.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on DLTR shares. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on Dollar Tree from $123.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $126.00 price target on shares of Dollar Tree in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Dollar Tree in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $165.00 target price on Dollar Tree and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, BTIG Research reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Dollar Tree in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and seven have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $123.24.

Dollar Tree Stock Performance

Shares of DLTR opened at $100.67 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $115.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $113.89. Dollar Tree, Inc. has a 12 month low of $70.71 and a 12 month high of $142.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.74.

Dollar Tree (NASDAQ:DLTR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 16th. The company reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.03. Dollar Tree had a return on equity of 32.24% and a net margin of 6.61%.The company had revenue of $5.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.11 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Dollar Tree, Inc. will post 5.39 EPS for the current year.

Dollar Tree Company Profile

Dollar Tree, Inc is a North American discount retailer that operates a portfolio of value-oriented store banners, primarily Dollar Tree and Family Dollar. The company's stores offer a broad assortment of everyday items at low price points, including household essentials, food and snacks, health and beauty products, cleaning supplies, seasonal and party goods, home décor, and basic apparel. Dollar Tree's merchandising strategy emphasizes high-turnover branded and private-label merchandise tailored to budget-conscious consumers, with Family Dollar complementing the chain by offering a wider range of price points and assortment depth in smaller-format neighborhood locations.

Founded in 1986 and headquartered in Chesapeake, Virginia, Dollar Tree has grown through both organic store openings and acquisitions.

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