Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Raises Stake in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its position in shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 26,505 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 353 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Dollar General were worth $2,010,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC increased its stake in Dollar General by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC now owns 28,827 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,186,000 after buying an additional 4,048 shares during the period. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. bought a new position in shares of Dollar General in the third quarter valued at approximately $5,650,000. Leibman Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Dollar General during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,018,000. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. raised its holdings in Dollar General by 231.6% during the third quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. now owns 37,462 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,168,000 after purchasing an additional 26,165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Dollar General by 62.9% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 166,574 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,087,000 after purchasing an additional 64,336 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

Dollar General Stock Up 2.2 %

Dollar General stock opened at $74.06 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $74.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $85.64. The firm has a market cap of $16.29 billion, a PE ratio of 12.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a current ratio of 1.15.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $10.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.26 earnings per share. Dollar General’s revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Dollar General Co. will post 5.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 7th were issued a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 7th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.19%. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.88%.

Insider Activity at Dollar General

In other news, EVP Emily C. Taylor sold 4,740 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was 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 represents a 23.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 value of $451,620.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 120,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,056,636.94. The trade was a 4.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on DG. Bernstein Bank dropped their price objective on Dollar General from $98.00 to $94.00 in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target 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. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $94.00 to $83.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Dollar General from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $95.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Dollar General from $102.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.