Banque Pictet & Cie SA Acquires 42,628 Shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

Banque Pictet & Cie SA increased its position in shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG - Free Report) by 51.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 125,217 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 42,628 shares during the quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA owned 0.06% of Dollar General worth $9,494,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Dollar General by 13.8% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 5,801 shares of the company's stock worth $440,000 after buying an additional 703 shares during the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Dollar General by 279.8% in the fourth quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 490 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 361 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Dollar General by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 82,302 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,246,000 after acquiring an additional 432 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in Dollar General by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 24,229 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,837,000 after acquiring an additional 1,876 shares during the period. Finally, Values First Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Dollar General during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $480,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.77% of the company's stock.

Dollar General Trading Up 3.2 %

Shares of Dollar General stock traded up $2.36 on Tuesday, reaching $74.92. 3,787,618 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,375,641. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. 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 capitalization of $16.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.43. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $73.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $83.71.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $10.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.14 billion. Dollar General had a net margin of 3.33% and a return on equity of 18.85%. Dollar General's quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.26 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Dollar General Co. will post 5.75 EPS for the current year.

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th were paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 7th. Dollar General's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on DG shares. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Dollar General from $110.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Bernstein Bank reduced their price target on shares of Dollar General from $98.00 to $94.00 in a report on Friday, November 15th. Bank of America raised shares of Dollar General from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $95.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, December 6th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Dollar General from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $96.77.

Insider Activity

In other Dollar General news, EVP Emily C. Taylor sold 4,740 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 15,575 shares in the company, valued at $1,206,128. The trade was a 23.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael M. Calbert sold 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.27, for a total value of $451,620.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 120,322 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,056,636.94. This trade represents a 4.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

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.