Cerity Partners LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) by 7.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 16,982 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,190 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Dollar General were worth $2,308,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its position in Dollar General by 21.6% in the first quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 1,034 shares of the company’s stock worth $230,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Dakota Wealth Management bought a new position in Dollar General during the first quarter valued at about $474,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Dollar General by 26.3% during the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 58,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,098,000 after buying an additional 12,262 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its position in Dollar General by 156.4% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 418 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its stake in Dollar General by 17.7% in the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 71,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,947,000 after acquiring an additional 10,773 shares during the last quarter. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Dollar General Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:DG opened at $145.68 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.00 billion, a PE ratio of 19.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a current ratio of 1.19. Dollar General Co. has a 52-week low of $101.09 and a 52-week high of $222.99. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $149.44 and a 200 day moving average of $133.86.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 14th. The company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.96 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Dollar General Co. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 8th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.62%. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Dollar General from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Dollar General from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Dollar General from $130.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Dollar General from $162.00 to $160.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Dollar General from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $124.00 to $154.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $153.08.

Insider Activity at Dollar General

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

Dollar General 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.