Equity Investment Corp Sells 74,510 Shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

Equity Investment Corp lessened its stake in shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) by 7.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 876,819 shares of the company’s stock after selling 74,510 shares during the period. Equity Investment Corp’s holdings in Dollar General were worth $66,480,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Dollar General during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 279.8% in the 4th quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 490 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 361 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Dollar General by 126.4% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 498 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Dollar General in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new stake in Dollar General in the 4th quarter valued at about $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Dollar General

In related news, Director Michael M. Calbert sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 120,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,056,636.94. This represents a 4.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Emily C. Taylor sold 4,740 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,206,128. This trade represents a 23.33 % 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 Stock Performance

Shares of Dollar General stock opened at $74.15 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $16.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 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’s fifty day moving average is $73.35 and its 200 day moving average is $81.82. 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 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $10.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.26 earnings per share. Dollar General’s revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Dollar General Co. will post 5.75 EPS for the current year.

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th were issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 7th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.18%. Dollar General’s payout ratio is currently 38.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on DG. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Dollar General from $104.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $97.00 to $95.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Bernstein Bank cut their price target on shares of Dollar General from $98.00 to $94.00 in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Dollar General from $94.00 to $83.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $96.77.

Dollar General Company 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.