ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Acquires 52,150 Shares of Dollar General Corporation (NYSE:DG)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. increased its stake in Dollar General Corporation (NYSE:DG - Free Report) by 52.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 151,415 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 52,150 shares during the period. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. owned about 0.07% of Dollar General worth $13,314,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DG. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Dollar General by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,231,285 shares of the company's stock worth $1,913,036,000 after purchasing an additional 160,853 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Dollar General by 14.9% in the 4th quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 11,767,336 shares of the company's stock valued at $892,199,000 after acquiring an additional 1,528,450 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Dollar General by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,361,216 shares of the company's stock valued at $405,425,000 after acquiring an additional 118,204 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Dollar General during the 4th quarter valued at about $399,433,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Dollar General by 32.1% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,380,501 shares of the company's stock worth $256,310,000 after acquiring an additional 821,608 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.77% of the company's stock.

Dollar General Stock Performance

NYSE:DG traded down $1.16 on Friday, hitting $114.31. The stock had a trading volume of 2,041,983 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,095,665. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $103.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $87.20. The stock has a market cap of $25.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.31. Dollar General Corporation has a 52-week low of $66.43 and a 52-week 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.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, June 3rd. The company reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $10.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.25 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.65 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Dollar General Corporation will post 5.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 8th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 8th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.06%. Dollar General's payout ratio is 45.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on DG shares. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Dollar General from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $115.00 to $116.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. KeyCorp reissued a "sector weight" rating on shares of Dollar General in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Oppenheimer upgraded Dollar General from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $130.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Telsey Advisory Group raised their target price on shares of Dollar General from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Loop Capital increased their price target on shares of Dollar General from $80.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Dollar General has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $109.08.

Insider Transactions at Dollar General

In other Dollar General news, EVP Kathleen A. Reardon sold 6,438 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.56, for a total transaction of $718,223.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 41,646 shares in the company, valued at $4,646,027.76. The trade was a 13.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Emily C. Taylor sold 1,969 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 46,563 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,261,619. This represents a 4.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.56% of the company's stock.

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.