Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) Shares Purchased by Clarkston Capital Partners LLC

Clarkston Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG - Free Report) by 45.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 644,140 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 201,692 shares during the quarter. Dollar General makes up 1.0% of Clarkston Capital Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC owned 0.29% of Dollar General worth $54,475,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Swiss National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Dollar General by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 652,600 shares of the company's stock valued at $55,190,000 after buying an additional 2,100 shares in the last quarter. AM Squared Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Dollar General by 33.3% during the 3rd quarter. AM Squared Ltd now owns 1,600 shares of the company's stock valued at $135,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Sather Financial Group Inc lifted its stake in shares of Dollar General by 78.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sather Financial Group Inc now owns 490,168 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,454,000 after buying an additional 215,507 shares in the last quarter. Kinsale Capital Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Dollar General by 24.8% during the 3rd quarter. Kinsale Capital Group Inc. now owns 33,403 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,825,000 after buying an additional 6,645 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Dollar General by 53.9% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 29,150 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,465,000 after buying an additional 10,213 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.77% of the company's stock.

Dollar General Trading Up 1.6 %

Dollar General stock traded up $1.21 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $77.09. The company had a trading volume of 3,250,852 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,200,010. The firm has a market cap of $16.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 1.22. Dollar General Co. has a 1 year low of $73.51 and a 1 year high of $168.07. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $81.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $109.99.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). Dollar General had a return on equity of 20.62% and a net margin of 3.57%. The business had revenue of $10.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.13 EPS. Dollar General's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Dollar General Co. will post 5.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 8th were paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 8th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.06%. Dollar General's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Warren F. Bryant purchased 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $80.40 per share, for a total transaction of $40,200.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 41,030 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,298,812. This trade represents a 1.23 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Roderick J. West sold 2,510 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.25, for a total transaction of $208,957.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,163 shares in the company, valued at $762,819.75. The trade was a 21.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on DG. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Dollar General from $90.00 to $80.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Dollar General from $110.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Dollar General from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $170.00 to $100.00 in a report on Friday, August 30th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Dollar General from $101.00 to $97.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, HSBC reduced their target price on shares of Dollar General from $100.00 to $88.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $104.00.

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.