Quilter Plc Lowers Stake in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

Quilter Plc cut its position in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) by 11.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 25,092 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,362 shares during the period. Quilter Plc’s holdings in Dollar General were worth $3,318,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. WINTON GROUP Ltd increased its stake in Dollar General by 56.2% in the 2nd quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 146,541 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,377,000 after buying an additional 52,727 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Dollar General during the second quarter worth about $206,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Dollar General by 85.7% during the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 58,107 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,683,000 after purchasing an additional 26,813 shares during the period. Meridian Management Co. bought a new stake in Dollar General during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $3,018,000. Finally, Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in Dollar General by 35.3% in the 2nd quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC now owns 5,179 shares of the company’s stock worth $684,000 after purchasing an additional 1,350 shares in the last quarter. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Warren F. Bryant purchased 500 shares of Dollar General stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $80.40 per share, with a total value of $40,200.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 41,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,298,812. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Warren F. Bryant bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $80.83 per share, with a total value of $80,830.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 42,030 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,397,284.90. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Warren F. Bryant purchased 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $80.40 per share, for a total transaction of $40,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 41,030 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,298,812. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Dollar General in a report on Monday, August 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Dollar General from $130.00 to $97.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 30th. Raymond James decreased their price target on shares of Dollar General from $150.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Argus cut their price objective on Dollar General from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Dollar General from $145.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Dollar General presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $113.95.

Dollar General Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DG opened at $84.75 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The company has a market capitalization of $18.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.34, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.44. Dollar General Co. has a 12 month low of $77.96 and a 12 month high of $168.07. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $112.80 and its 200 day moving average is $131.96.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Dollar General had a net margin of 3.57% and a return on equity of 20.62%. The business had revenue of $10.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.13 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Dollar General Co. will post 5.85 EPS for the current year.

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 8th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 8th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.78%. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.35%.

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.