22,143 Shares in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) Purchased by Avanza Fonder AB

Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new stake in shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 22,143 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,679,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Dollar General by 453.4% in the third quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 10,238,886 shares of the company's stock valued at $865,903,000 after acquiring an additional 8,388,735 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,958,704 shares of the company's stock valued at $842,208,000 after purchasing an additional 759,869 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Dollar General by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,243,012 shares of the company's stock worth $441,899,000 after purchasing an additional 182,300 shares in the last quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA purchased a new position in Dollar General during the 3rd quarter worth $194,832,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Dollar General by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,434,960 shares of the company's stock valued at $121,355,000 after buying an additional 31,200 shares in the last quarter. 91.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Dollar General

In related news, Director Michael M. Calbert sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.27, for a total value of $451,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 120,322 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,056,636.94. This trade represents a 4.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Emily C. Taylor sold 4,740 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.44, for a total value of $367,065.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,575 shares in the company, valued at $1,206,128. This trade represents a 23.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

Dollar General Price Performance

Shares of DG stock traded down $0.82 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $68.44. 3,380,183 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,174,597. Dollar General Co. has a fifty-two week low of $66.43 and a fifty-two week high of $168.07. The firm has a market cap of $15.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $75.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $91.59.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.08). Dollar General had a net margin of 3.33% and a return on equity of 18.85%. The company had revenue of $10.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.26 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Dollar General Co. will post 5.75 EPS for the current year.

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th will be given a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 7th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.45%. Dollar General's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. HSBC cut their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $100.00 to $88.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Dollar General from $110.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Dollar General from $122.00 to $104.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Gordon Haskett upgraded Dollar General from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Dollar General from $97.00 to $95.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $98.18.

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.