Merit Financial Group LLC Reduces Stock Position in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

Merit Financial Group LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) by 32.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,233 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,083 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Dollar General were worth $304,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Dollar General by 18.9% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,711,407 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,297,067,000 after purchasing an additional 3,457,393 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in Dollar General by 98.1% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,106,653 shares of the company’s stock valued at $222,884,000 after buying an additional 1,043,141 shares during the last quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA increased its holdings in Dollar General by 283.1% during the third quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA now owns 927,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $98,077,000 after buying an additional 685,000 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Dollar General by 78.6% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,426,318 shares of the company’s stock worth $150,904,000 after acquiring an additional 627,844 shares during the period. Finally, Equity Investment Corp boosted its stake in shares of Dollar General by 744.8% during the 3rd quarter. Equity Investment Corp now owns 638,695 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,574,000 after acquiring an additional 563,095 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

Dollar General Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of DG stock opened at $137.53 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $30.21 billion, a PE ratio of 18.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.44. Dollar General Co. has a 1 year low of $101.09 and a 1 year high of $221.50. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $149.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $137.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.15.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. 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 the consensus estimate of $9.77 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.96 earnings per share. Dollar General’s revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Dollar General Co. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 9th were given a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 8th. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on DG. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $170.00 price objective on shares of Dollar General in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Dollar General from $162.00 to $160.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Dollar General from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. StockNews.com upgraded Dollar General from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Dollar General from $125.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $153.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Dollar General news, Director Ralph Santana sold 3,009 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.72, for a total value of $468,561.48. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $505,778.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Dollar General news, Director Ralph Santana sold 3,009 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $505,778.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Carman R. Wenkoff sold 5,909 shares of Dollar General stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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.