Handelsbanken Fonder AB Has $8.43 Million Position in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lessened its position in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) by 23.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 61,977 shares of the company’s stock after selling 19,398 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Dollar General were worth $8,426,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Comerica Bank acquired a new stake in Dollar General in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $12,047,000. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Dollar General by 294.5% in the fourth quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,924 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,573,000 after purchasing an additional 14,127 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Dollar General in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $18,861,000. Professional Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in Dollar General by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Professional Advisory Services Inc. now owns 150,960 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,523,000 after purchasing an additional 16,899 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Live Oak Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Dollar General in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,374,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

Dollar General Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DG opened at $143.21 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.46 billion, a PE ratio of 18.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.15. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $150.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $135.13. Dollar General Co. has a fifty-two week low of $101.09 and a fifty-two week high of $222.99.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 14th. The company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $9.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.77 billion. Dollar General had a return on equity of 26.13% and a net margin of 4.29%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.96 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Dollar General Co. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th were issued a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 8th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.65%. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.22%.

Insider Transactions at Dollar General

In other news, Director Ralph Santana sold 3,009 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.72, for a total transaction of $468,561.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $505,778.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Ralph Santana sold 3,009 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.72, for a total transaction of $468,561.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $505,778.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Carman R. Wenkoff sold 5,909 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.23, for a total value of $958,617.07. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,636,371.17. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.49% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Dollar General from $147.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Dollar General in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Raymond James raised their price target on Dollar General from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Dollar General from $130.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Argus lifted their target price on Dollar General from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $153.08.

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.