Balentine LLC Makes New $724,000 Investment in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

Balentine LLC bought a new position in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 5,327 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $724,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. ORG Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Dollar General by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 754 shares of the company's stock worth $103,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Dollar General by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. now owns 29,224 shares of the company's stock worth $3,973,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Dollar General by 78.0% in the fourth quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 219 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Dollar General by 48.3% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 304 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 42.7% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 341 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.77% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Ralph Santana sold 3,009 shares of Dollar General stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.72, for a total transaction 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 28,579 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,636,371.17. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Ralph Santana sold 3,009 shares of Dollar General stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.72, for a total value of $468,561.48. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,248 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $505,778.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $170.00 price objective on shares of Dollar General in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Raymond James increased their price objective on Dollar General from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Piper Sandler reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $147.00 price target (up from $127.00) on shares of Dollar General in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Dollar General from $125.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Dollar General from $158.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $153.08.

Dollar General Trading Up 3.5 %

DG stock traded up $4.77 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $142.60. The company had a trading volume of 3,178,890 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,295,067. The stock has a market cap of $31.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.86, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.44. Dollar General Co. has a 52 week low of $101.09 and a 52 week high of $214.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $147.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $138.72.

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

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 9th were paid a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 8th. Dollar General's payout ratio is currently 31.22%.

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.