First Trust Advisors LP Increases Holdings in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG - Free Report) by 687.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 515,016 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 449,604 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.23% of Dollar General worth $39,049,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators grew its position in shares of Dollar General by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,884 shares of the company's stock valued at $143,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC boosted its stake in Dollar General by 20.3% during the fourth quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 953 shares of the company's stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its position in Dollar General by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,159 shares of the company's stock worth $164,000 after buying an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Peoples Bank KS increased its stake in Dollar General by 19.1% in the 4th quarter. Peoples Bank KS now owns 1,435 shares of the company's stock worth $109,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 7,297 shares of the company's stock valued at $553,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. 91.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Dollar General Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of DG stock traded up $0.36 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $93.69. 3,587,901 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,931,891. The company has a quick ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $85.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $79.10. Dollar General Co. has a 12-month low of $66.43 and a 12-month high of $147.87. The stock has a market cap of $20.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.43, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.40.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 13th. The company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $10.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.26 billion. Dollar General had a return on equity of 18.85% and a net margin of 3.33%. Dollar General's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.83 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Dollar General Co. will post 5.75 EPS for the current year.

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 8th were given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 8th. Dollar General's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.18%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Melius Research upgraded shares of Dollar General from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Melius upgraded shares of Dollar General from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $110.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Gordon Haskett downgraded Dollar General from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on Dollar General from $76.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Dollar General currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $94.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Emily C. Taylor sold 809 shares of Dollar General stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.72, for a total value of $76,628.48. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 48,532 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,596,951.04. This trade represents a 1.64 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.56% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Dollar General 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.