Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Sells 9,563 Shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. lowered its position in shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG - Free Report) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 515,940 shares of the company's stock after selling 9,563 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned 0.24% of Dollar General worth $70,142,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Fiduciary Trust Co. lifted its position in Dollar General by 0.7% in the first quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co. now owns 8,868 shares of the company's stock worth $1,866,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. SevenOneSeven Capital Management boosted its stake in Dollar General by 5.4% during the second quarter. SevenOneSeven Capital Management now owns 1,257 shares of the company's stock worth $207,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Kinneret Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Dollar General by 2.3% during the first quarter. Kinneret Advisory LLC now owns 2,906 shares of the company's stock worth $647,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Cito Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in Dollar General by 2.5% during the first quarter. Cito Capital Group LLC now owns 3,100 shares of the company's stock worth $652,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Dollar General by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 1,160 shares of the company's stock worth $286,000 after buying an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.77% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Dollar General

In related news, EVP Carman R. Wenkoff sold 5,909 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.23, for a total value of $958,617.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,579 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,636,371.17. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Ralph Santana sold 3,009 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.72, for a total value of $468,561.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,248 shares in the company, valued at approximately $505,778.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Carman R. Wenkoff sold 5,909 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.23, for a total value of $958,617.07. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,579 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,636,371.17. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

Dollar General Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE:DG traded up $1.19 on Thursday, hitting $145.68. 1,463,697 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,377,262. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.42. Dollar General Co. has a 52 week low of $101.09 and a 52 week high of $222.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a current ratio of 1.19. The company's 50-day moving average price is $149.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $133.86.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $9.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.77 billion. Dollar General had a return on equity of 26.13% and a net margin of 4.29%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.96 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Dollar General Co. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 8th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.62%. Dollar General's payout ratio is currently 31.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Dollar General in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Barclays upgraded shares of Dollar General from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $124.00 to $154.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Argus lifted their price target on shares of Dollar General from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Dollar General from $162.00 to $160.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Dollar General from $130.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $153.08.

About Dollar General

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.