ING Groep NV Purchases 165,379 Shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

ING Groep NV grew its holdings in shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG - Free Report) by 852.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 184,788 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 165,379 shares during the period. ING Groep NV owned about 0.08% of Dollar General worth $14,011,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in DG. Metis Global Partners LLC grew its position in Dollar General by 2.0% during the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 7,042 shares of the company's stock worth $596,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its position in shares of Dollar General by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 7,768 shares of the company's stock valued at $657,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 20.3% during the 4th quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 953 shares of the company's stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Peoples Bank KS increased its position in shares of Dollar General by 19.1% in the fourth quarter. Peoples Bank KS now owns 1,435 shares of the company's stock worth $109,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Dollar General by 126.4% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 498 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.77% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America upgraded Dollar General from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $95.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Dollar General from $102.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $110.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Dollar General from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $97.00 to $82.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Dollar General presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $96.77.

Dollar General Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of DG traded up $0.55 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $76.68. The stock had a trading volume of 3,527,346 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,766,443. Dollar General Co. has a 12 month low of $66.43 and a 12 month high of $168.07. The company has a market capitalization of $16.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.43. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $73.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $82.42. 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 (NYSE:DG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.08). Dollar General had a net margin of 3.33% and a return on equity of 18.85%. The business had revenue of $10.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.14 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.26 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Dollar General Co. will post 5.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th were issued a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 7th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.08%. Dollar General's dividend payout ratio is presently 38.88%.

Insider Activity at Dollar General

In related news, Director Michael M. Calbert sold 6,000 shares of Dollar General stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.27, for a total transaction of $451,620.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 120,322 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,056,636.94. This trade represents a 4.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Emily C. Taylor sold 4,740 shares of Dollar General 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 sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.49% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.