Sentry LLC Has $462,000 Stock Position in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

Sentry LLC raised its position in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) by 10.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 6,097 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 567 shares during the period. Sentry LLC’s holdings in Dollar General were worth $462,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of DG. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Dollar General by 453.4% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Dollar General by 8.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,958,704 shares of the company’s stock worth $842,208,000 after acquiring an additional 759,869 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 182,300 shares during the last quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA purchased a new position in shares of Dollar General during the third quarter valued at approximately $194,832,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Dollar General by 2.2% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

Dollar General Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DG opened at $72.04 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $74.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $88.51. Dollar General Co. has a twelve month low of $66.43 and a twelve month high of $168.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 18.85% and a net margin of 3.33%. The company had revenue of $10.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.26 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Dollar General Co. will post 5.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th were paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 7th. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.88%.

Insider Transactions at Dollar General

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on DG shares. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Dollar General from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Telsey Advisory Group decreased their target price on Dollar General from $103.00 to $90.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Dollar General from $102.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Dollar General from $104.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Dollar General has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $96.77.

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.