Valmark Advisers Inc. Acquires Shares of 1,677 Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

Valmark Advisers Inc. bought a new position in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 1,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $228,000.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Dollar General from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Dollar General from $130.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Raymond James lifted their target price on Dollar General from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Dollar General from $125.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $147.00 price objective (up from $127.00) on shares of Dollar General in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Dollar General has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $153.08.

Insider Buying and Selling at Dollar General

In related news, Director Ralph Santana sold 3,009 shares of Dollar General stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Dollar General news, Director Ralph Santana sold 3,009 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the director now owns 3,248 shares in the company, valued at approximately $505,778.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Carman R. Wenkoff sold 5,909 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.23, for a total value of $958,617.07. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now 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. Insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Dollar General Price Performance

Shares of Dollar General stock opened at $141.15 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a current ratio of 1.19. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $150.36 and its 200 day moving average is $136.17. The stock has a market cap of $31.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.42. Dollar General Co. has a one year low of $101.09 and a one year high of $221.50.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 14th. The company reported $1.83 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $9.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.96 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Dollar General Co. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 9th were issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 8th. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.22%.

About Dollar General

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.