Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) Shares Sold by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. trimmed its holdings in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) by 48.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 70,519 shares of the company’s stock after selling 66,402 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Dollar General were worth $9,586,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Valmark Advisers Inc. bought a new position in Dollar General in the 4th quarter worth approximately $228,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Dollar General in the 4th quarter worth approximately $161,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI bought a new position in Dollar General in the 4th quarter worth approximately $212,000. Markel Group Inc. boosted its stake in Dollar General by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 654,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,945,000 after purchasing an additional 64,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc bought a new position in Dollar General during the 4th quarter valued at $3,440,000. 91.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Dollar General Price Performance

DG opened at $136.17 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $150.02 and a 200-day moving average of $136.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.01, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.44. Dollar General Co. has a 12-month low of $101.09 and a 12-month high of $221.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.09. Dollar General had a return on equity of 26.13% and a net margin of 4.29%. The company had revenue of $9.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.96 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Dollar General Co. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 9th were issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 8th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.73%. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio is 31.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on DG shares. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Dollar General in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $147.00 price target (up from $127.00) on shares of Dollar General in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Dollar General from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Dollar General from $162.00 to $160.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised Dollar General from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $153.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Ralph Santana sold 3,009 shares of the 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 sale, the director now directly owns 3,248 shares in the company, valued at $505,778.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Ralph Santana sold 3,009 shares of the 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 sale, the director now directly owns 3,248 shares in the company, valued at $505,778.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Carman R. Wenkoff sold 5,909 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.23, for a total transaction of $958,617.07. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,579 shares in the company, valued at $4,636,371.17. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.