Monarch Capital Management Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

Monarch Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) by 183.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,328 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,330 shares during the period. Monarch Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Dollar General were worth $859,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 453.4% during the third quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 10,238,886 shares of the company’s stock valued at $865,903,000 after purchasing an additional 8,388,735 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,958,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $842,208,000 after buying an additional 759,869 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Dollar General by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,243,012 shares of the company’s stock worth $441,899,000 after buying an additional 182,300 shares during the last quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA purchased a new position in shares of Dollar General in the 3rd quarter worth $194,832,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 2.2% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,434,960 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,355,000 after acquiring an additional 31,200 shares during the period. 91.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Dollar General

In other news, EVP Emily C. Taylor sold 4,740 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.44, for a total value of $367,065.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,206,128. The trade was a 23.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Michael M. Calbert sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.27, for a total value of $451,620.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 120,322 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,056,636.94. The trade was a 4.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of Dollar General in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Dollar General from $122.00 to $104.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Dollar General in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $98.00 price target on the stock. Barclays decreased their target price on Dollar General from $102.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Bernstein Bank cut their price target on Dollar General from $98.00 to $94.00 in a report on Friday, November 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Dollar General has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.18.

Dollar General Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE DG opened at $68.44 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.44. Dollar General Co. has a 12-month low of $66.43 and a 12-month high of $168.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $75.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $91.85.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.08). Dollar General had a net margin of 3.33% and a return on equity of 18.85%. The company had revenue of $10.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.26 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Dollar General Co. will post 5.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th will be given a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 7th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.45%. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.88%.

Dollar General 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.