First Eagle Investment Management LLC Takes Position in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

First Eagle Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 5,268,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $399,433,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC owned approximately 2.40% of Dollar General at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Dollar General in the third quarter worth $33,000. Providence First Trust Co purchased a new position in Dollar General in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Bogart Wealth LLC grew its position in Dollar General by 279.8% in the fourth 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. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Dollar General in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Dollar General by 126.4% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 498 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Michael M. Calbert sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 31st. The shares were 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 $9,056,636.94. This represents a 4.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Dollar General Price Performance

DG stock opened at $80.03 on Friday. Dollar General Co. has a 1 year low of $66.43 and a 1 year high of $168.07. The company has a market cap of $17.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.18, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.44. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $73.61 and a 200 day moving average of $78.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.15.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 13th. The company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $10.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.26 billion. Dollar General had a net margin of 3.33% and a return on equity of 18.85%. The business’s revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.83 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Dollar General Co. will post 5.75 EPS for the current year.

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 8th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 8th. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Gordon Haskett downgraded shares of Dollar General from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Dollar General from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Dollar General from $108.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Dollar General from $73.00 to $69.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Dollar General from $102.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. One equities research 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 data from MarketBeat.com, Dollar General has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $95.09.

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.