Community Trust & Investment Co. Invests $410,000 in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

Community Trust & Investment Co. acquired a new stake in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 5,405 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $410,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 453.4% in 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. Baupost Group LLC MA bought a new position in Dollar General in the third quarter valued at $194,832,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in Dollar General by 148.6% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,280,020 shares of the company’s stock valued at $169,257,000 after buying an additional 765,206 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in Dollar General by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,958,704 shares of the company’s stock worth $842,208,000 after buying an additional 759,869 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of Dollar General by 319.6% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 925,083 shares of the company’s stock worth $122,324,000 after buying an additional 704,639 shares during the last quarter. 91.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Dollar General

In related news, Director Michael M. Calbert sold 6,000 shares of Dollar General stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.27, for a total value of $451,620.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 120,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,056,636.94. This trade represents a 4.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Emily C. Taylor sold 4,740 shares of the company’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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,206,128. The trade was a 23.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.49% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Dollar General Price Performance

NYSE:DG opened at $69.45 on Wednesday. Dollar General Co. has a 52 week low of $69.33 and a 52 week high of $168.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a current ratio of 1.15. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $76.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $92.61. The firm has a market cap of $15.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.44.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $10.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.14 billion. Dollar General had a return on equity of 18.85% and a net margin of 3.33%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.26 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Dollar General Co. will post 5.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 7th. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on DG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Dollar General from $97.00 to $82.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Dollar General from $122.00 to $104.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Bank of America raised shares of Dollar General from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $95.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Dollar General from $110.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Dollar General in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $98.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Dollar General has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.18.

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.