Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) Shares Acquired by Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund raised its stake in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG - Free Report) by 60.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,434 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,923 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund's holdings in Dollar General were worth $791,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Metis Global Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 2.0% in the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 7,042 shares of the company's stock worth $596,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC raised its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 2.0% in the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 7,768 shares of the company's stock worth $657,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 20.3% in the fourth quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 953 shares of the company's stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Peoples Bank KS raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Dollar General by 126.4% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 498 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.77% of the company's stock.

Dollar General Stock Up 0.7 %

DG traded up $0.55 on Friday, reaching $76.68. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,527,346 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,385,456. The stock has a market cap of $16.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.43. Dollar General Co. has a 1 year low of $66.43 and a 1 year high of $168.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.15. The business's 50 day moving average is $73.27 and its 200 day moving average is $83.28.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $10.18 billion during 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%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.26 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Dollar General Co. will post 5.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dollar General Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on DG. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Dollar General from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Dollar General from $104.00 to $93.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Dollar General from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Dollar General from $97.00 to $82.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $96.77.

Insider Activity at Dollar General

In other Dollar General news, EVP Emily C. Taylor sold 4,740 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.44, for a total transaction of $367,065.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,575 shares in the company, valued at $1,206,128. This represents a 23.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Michael M. Calbert sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.27, for a total value of $451,620.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 120,322 shares in the company, valued at $9,056,636.94. The trade was a 4.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.