Rhumbline Advisers Cuts Position in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

Rhumbline Advisers decreased its stake in shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG - Free Report) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 397,306 shares of the company's stock after selling 14,026 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned 0.18% of Dollar General worth $30,124,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DG. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 453.4% in the third quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 10,238,886 shares of the company's stock worth $865,903,000 after purchasing an additional 8,388,735 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in Dollar General by 8.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,958,704 shares of the company's stock worth $842,208,000 after buying an additional 759,869 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 182,300 shares during the last quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA bought a new position in Dollar General in the 3rd quarter worth about $194,832,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 2.2% in 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 acquiring an additional 31,200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.77% of the company's stock.

Dollar General Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of Dollar General stock traded up $0.55 on Friday, hitting $76.68. The stock had a trading volume of 3,526,262 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,385,450. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $73.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $83.28. Dollar General Co. has a one year low of $66.43 and a one year high of $168.07. 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 stock has a market cap of $16.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.63, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.43.

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

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th were issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 7th. Dollar General's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.88%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Michael M. Calbert sold 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 $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 is available 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 shares were sold at an average price of $77.44, for a total transaction of $367,065.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,575 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Dollar General from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Dollar General from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Telsey Advisory Group cut their target price on shares of Dollar General from $103.00 to $90.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Dollar General from $97.00 to $82.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $96.77.

Dollar General 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.