Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 310,711 Shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. cut its stake in shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG - Free Report) by 92.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 24,924 shares of the company's stock after selling 310,711 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Dollar General were worth $3,388,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DG. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Dollar General by 18.9% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,711,407 shares of the company's stock worth $2,297,067,000 after acquiring an additional 3,457,393 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Dollar General by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,346,674 shares of the company's stock valued at $248,278,000 after purchasing an additional 62,913 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in Dollar General by 98.1% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,106,653 shares of the company's stock valued at $222,884,000 after buying an additional 1,043,141 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Dollar General by 44.2% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,572,721 shares of the company's stock worth $166,394,000 after acquiring an additional 481,881 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 78.6% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,426,318 shares of the company's stock valued at $150,904,000 after acquiring an additional 627,844 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.77% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Ralph Santana sold 3,009 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.72, for a total transaction of $468,561.48. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,248 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $505,778.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Dollar General news, Director Ralph Santana sold 3,009 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now directly owns 3,248 shares in the company, valued at $505,778.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Carman R. Wenkoff sold 5,909 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.23, for a total transaction of $958,617.07. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now 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. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Dollar General Stock Up 0.1 %

DG traded up $0.09 during trading on Friday, hitting $140.95. The company had a trading volume of 1,339,190 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,929,067. Dollar General Co. has a 1-year low of $101.09 and a 1-year high of $219.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.15. The company has a market cap of $30.96 billion, a PE ratio of 18.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.44. The business has a 50-day moving average of $149.56 and a 200-day moving average of $137.49.

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

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 9th were given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 8th. Dollar General's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on DG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Dollar General from $158.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Dollar General from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Piper Sandler reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $147.00 price objective (up previously from $127.00) on shares of Dollar General in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $170.00 target price on shares of Dollar General in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on Dollar General from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Dollar General has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $153.08.

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.