Dollar General Corporation (NYSE:DG) Shares Sold by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lessened its stake in shares of Dollar General Corporation (NYSE:DG) by 97.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,497 shares of the company’s stock after selling 190,705 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Dollar General were worth $395,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of DG. Studio Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Dollar General by 16.4% in the 4th quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 989 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its position in Dollar General by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,884 shares of the company’s stock valued at $143,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC lifted its position in Dollar General by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC now owns 28,983 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,548,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in Dollar General by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $164,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Colonial Trust Co SC lifted its position in Dollar General by 13.9% in the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 1,633 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

Dollar General Price Performance

DG stock opened at $112.27 on Friday. Dollar General Corporation has a 52-week low of $66.43 and a 52-week high of $135.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 1.23. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $98.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $84.81. The company has a market capitalization of $24.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.43, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.26.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 3rd. The company reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.32. Dollar General had a net margin of 2.81% and a return on equity of 17.93%. The company had revenue of $10.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.25 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.65 earnings per share. Dollar General’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Dollar General Corporation will post 5.75 EPS for the current year.

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 8th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 8th. Dollar General’s payout ratio is 45.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Kathleen A. Reardon sold 6,438 shares of Dollar General stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.56, for a total transaction of $718,223.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 41,646 shares in the company, valued at $4,646,027.76. This trade represents a 13.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Emily C. Taylor sold 1,969 shares of Dollar General stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total transaction of $222,497.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 46,563 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,261,619. This represents a 4.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,216 shares of company stock worth $1,017,349. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on DG shares. Melius raised shares of Dollar General from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Loop Capital boosted their price target on shares of Dollar General from $80.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Dollar General in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Dollar General from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Dollar General from $80.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $109.04.

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.