Virtu Financial LLC Invests $1.52 Million in Dollar Tree, Inc. (NASDAQ:DLTR)

Key Points

• Virtu Financial LLC has acquired a new position in Dollar Tree, buying approximately 20,284 shares valued at about $1.52 million.
• Dollar Tree's Board of Directors has authorized a $2.5 billion share buyback plan, indicating management's belief that the stock is currently undervalued.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Dollar Tree, with 13 hold ratings, two sell ratings, and seven buy ratings, as well as an average price target of $97.74.

Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Dollar Tree, Inc. (NASDAQ:DLTR - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 20,284 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,523,000.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in Dollar Tree by 48.1% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 82,984 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,219,000 after purchasing an additional 26,950 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Dollar Tree by 116.0% during the fourth quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 10,126 shares of the company's stock valued at $759,000 after acquiring an additional 5,438 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Dollar Tree during the fourth quarter valued at $24,922,000. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Dollar Tree by 34,600.0% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 347 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 346 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Dollar Tree in the fourth quarter valued at $3,327,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CMO Richard L. Mcneely sold 21,026 shares of Dollar Tree stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.62, for a total value of $1,989,480.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 50,419 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,770,645.78. The trade was a 29.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 6.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Dollar Tree Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of DLTR traded up $1.34 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $115.40. 3,331,041 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,122,440. Dollar Tree, Inc. has a 52 week low of $60.49 and a 52 week high of $118.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.08 billion, a PE ratio of -8.33, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.88. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $105.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $86.55.

Dollar Tree (NASDAQ:DLTR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 4th. The company reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $4.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.52 billion. Dollar Tree had a positive return on equity of 19.36% and a negative net margin of 12.15%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.43 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Dollar Tree, Inc. will post 5.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Dollar Tree announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, July 9th that permits the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 11.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on DLTR shares. UBS Group raised their target price on Dollar Tree from $95.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Dollar Tree from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Dollar Tree in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $106.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Dollar Tree from a "strong-buy" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $82.00 price objective on Dollar Tree and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Dollar Tree presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $99.89.

Dollar Tree Profile

Dollar Tree, Inc operates retail discount stores. The company operates in two segments, Dollar Tree and Family Dollar. The Dollar Tree segment offers merchandise at the fixed price of $ 1.25. It provides consumable merchandise, which includes everyday consumables, such as household paper and chemicals, food, candy, health, personal care products, and frozen and refrigerated food; variety merchandise comprising toys, durable housewares, gifts, stationery, party goods, greeting cards, softlines, arts and crafts supplies, and other items; and seasonal goods that include Christmas, Easter, Halloween, and Valentine's Day merchandise.