LPL Financial LLC Increases Stake in Dollar Tree, Inc. (NASDAQ:DLTR)

LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in Dollar Tree, Inc. (NASDAQ:DLTR) by 7.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 94,176 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,174 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in Dollar Tree were worth $7,058,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in Dollar Tree by 74.1% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 350 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc purchased a new position in Dollar Tree during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its stake in Dollar Tree by 120.8% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 424 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in Dollar Tree by 91.3% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 440 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Dollar Tree by 738.7% during the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 554 shares in the last quarter. 97.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Dollar Tree Stock Performance

DLTR stock opened at $67.55 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $14.53 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.17. Dollar Tree, Inc. has a 1 year low of $60.49 and a 1 year high of $131.42. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $71.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $70.30.

Dollar Tree (NASDAQ:DLTR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The company reported $2.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by ($0.09). Dollar Tree had a negative net margin of 3.34% and a positive return on equity of 16.89%. The firm had revenue of $5 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.55 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Dollar Tree, Inc. will post 5.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Dollar Tree

In related news, Director William W. Douglas III bought 701 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $75.00 per share, for a total transaction of $52,575.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $103,275. This trade represents a 103.70 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 6.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on DLTR. UBS Group dropped their price target on Dollar Tree from $105.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Guggenheim cut their target price on Dollar Tree from $100.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Dollar Tree from $88.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price objective on shares of Dollar Tree from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Dollar Tree from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $81.00.

About Dollar Tree

Dollar Tree, Inc operates retail discount stores. The company operates in two segments, Dollar Tree and Family Dollar. The Dollar Tree segment offers merchandise at the fixed price of $ 1.25. It provides consumable merchandise, which includes everyday consumables, such as household paper and chemicals, food, candy, health, personal care products, and frozen and refrigerated food; variety merchandise comprising toys, durable housewares, gifts, stationery, party goods, greeting cards, softlines, arts and crafts supplies, and other items; and seasonal goods that include Christmas, Easter, Halloween, and Valentine's Day merchandise.