Dollar General (NYSE:DG) Shares Down 1.8% After Insider Selling

Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG - Get Free Report) shares fell 1.8% during trading on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $85.34 and last traded at $86.15. 4,657,384 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 23% from the average session volume of 3,793,190 shares. The stock had previously closed at $87.70.

Specifically, EVP Emily C. Taylor sold 809 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.72, for a total transaction of $76,628.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 48,532 shares in the company, valued at $4,596,951.04. The trade was a 1.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on DG. Melius Research upgraded shares of Dollar General from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Dollar General in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Melius raised Dollar General from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $110.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on Dollar General from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $94.75.

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Dollar General Stock Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $80.35 and a 200 day moving average of $78.19. The company has a market cap of $19.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 13th. The company reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.17. Dollar General had a net margin of 3.33% and a return on equity of 18.85%. The firm had revenue of $10.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.26 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.83 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Dollar General Co. will post 5.75 EPS for the current year.

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 8th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 8th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.61%. Dollar General's payout ratio is 46.18%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Dollar General

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Studio Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Dollar General by 16.4% in the 4th quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 989 shares of the company's stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators increased its stake in shares of Dollar General by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,884 shares of the company's stock valued at $143,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 0.5% during the first quarter. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC now owns 28,983 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,548,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Dollar General by 20.3% in 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. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in shares of Dollar General by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,159 shares of the company's stock worth $164,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.77% of the company's stock.

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.