LMR Partners LLP Makes New $12.18 Million Investment in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

LMR Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 144,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,178,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quest Partners LLC increased its position in Dollar General by 9,882.7% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 5,191 shares of the company’s stock worth $439,000 after buying an additional 5,139 shares during the period. AMG National Trust Bank acquired a new position in shares of Dollar General in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,491,000. Equity Investment Corp increased its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 60.8% in the third quarter. Equity Investment Corp now owns 951,329 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,454,000 after purchasing an additional 359,757 shares during the period. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 45.6% in the third quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC now owns 644,140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,475,000 after purchasing an additional 201,692 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Dollar General by 0.3% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 652,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,190,000 after buying an additional 2,100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Dollar General

In other news, Director Warren F. Bryant bought 500 shares of Dollar General stock in a transaction 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 acquisition, the director now directly owns 41,030 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,298,812. This represents a 1.23 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Steven R. Deckard sold 2,010 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.66, for a total value of $174,186.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 2,887 shares in the company, valued at $250,187.42. The trade was a 41.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Dollar General Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DG opened at $75.88 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 0.24. Dollar General Co. has a 12 month low of $73.51 and a 12 month high of $168.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.69 billion, a PE ratio of 11.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.45. The business has a 50-day moving average of $81.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $109.99.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last issued its quarterly 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). The business had revenue of $10.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.37 billion. Dollar General had a net margin of 3.57% and a return on equity of 20.62%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.13 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Dollar General Co. will post 5.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 8th were issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 8th. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.65%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Melius Research assumed coverage on Dollar General in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley downgraded Dollar General from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $170.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Gordon Haskett upgraded Dollar General from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Barclays decreased their price target on Dollar General from $154.00 to $102.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Dollar General from $130.00 to $90.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Dollar General has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $104.45.

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.