Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. Acquires 336 Shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) by 12.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,971 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 336 shares during the period. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Dollar General were worth $404,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Dollar General by 18.9% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,711,407 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,297,067,000 after purchasing an additional 3,457,393 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Dollar General during the 4th quarter worth approximately $564,881,000. Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of Dollar General by 38.5% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,744,478 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,168,329,000 after buying an additional 1,318,412 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in shares of Dollar General by 98.1% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,106,653 shares of the company’s stock worth $222,884,000 after buying an additional 1,043,141 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Dollar General by 11.3% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,765,333 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,055,202,000 after buying an additional 994,813 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

Dollar General Price Performance

NYSE DG opened at $144.47 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $31.74 billion, a PE ratio of 19.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.42. Dollar General Co. has a 52 week low of $101.09 and a 52 week high of $222.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $149.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $133.78.

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

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 8th. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on DG shares. Argus raised their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $130.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of 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. Barclays raised shares of Dollar General from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $124.00 to $154.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Dollar General from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report 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 MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $153.08.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Carman R. Wenkoff sold 5,909 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $4,636,371.17. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Ralph Santana sold 3,009 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.72, for a total transaction of $468,561.48. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,248 shares in the company, valued at $505,778.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Carman R. Wenkoff sold 5,909 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 28,579 shares in the company, valued at $4,636,371.17. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

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.