Weaver Capital Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

Weaver Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) by 9.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 5,541 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 490 shares during the quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Dollar General were worth $420,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Dollar General in the third quarter valued at $33,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Dollar General during the third quarter worth about $57,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its position in Dollar General by 37.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 792 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the period. Studio Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Dollar General by 200.4% during the 3rd quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 850 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 567 shares during the period. Finally, Peoples Bank KS grew its stake in shares of Dollar General by 19.1% in the 4th quarter. Peoples Bank KS now owns 1,435 shares of the company’s stock valued at $109,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. 91.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on DG shares. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Dollar General from $97.00 to $95.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. HSBC lowered their price objective on Dollar General from $100.00 to $88.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Dollar General from $102.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Telsey Advisory Group decreased their price target on Dollar General from $103.00 to $90.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Bernstein Bank reduced their price objective on Dollar General from $98.00 to $94.00 in a report on Friday, November 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Dollar General has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $96.77.

Insider Transactions at Dollar General

In other news, EVP Emily C. Taylor sold 4,740 shares of Dollar General stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael M. Calbert sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.27, for a total transaction of $451,620.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 120,322 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,056,636.94. This trade represents 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.

Dollar General Price Performance

Shares of DG stock opened at $71.84 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $74.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $87.00. The company has a market capitalization of $15.80 billion, a PE ratio of 11.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.43. Dollar General Co. has a twelve month low of $66.43 and a twelve 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.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.08). Dollar General had a net margin of 3.33% and a return on equity of 18.85%. The firm had revenue of $10.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.26 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Dollar General Co. will post 5.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th were given a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 7th. Dollar General’s payout ratio is 38.88%.

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.