Longview Partners Guernsey LTD Trims Position in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

Longview Partners Guernsey LTD cut its position in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG - Free Report) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,455,281 shares of the company's stock after selling 119,584 shares during the quarter. Dollar General comprises about 2.0% of Longview Partners Guernsey LTD's portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Longview Partners Guernsey LTD owned approximately 1.57% of Dollar General worth $261,979,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators boosted its holdings in Dollar General by 8.7% in the 4th 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 during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC grew its position in Dollar General by 20.3% during the fourth quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 953 shares of the company's stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in Dollar General by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,159 shares of the company's stock worth $164,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the period. Peoples Bank KS raised its holdings in Dollar General by 19.1% in the 4th quarter. Peoples Bank KS now owns 1,435 shares of the company's stock valued at $109,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Dollar General by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 7,297 shares of the company's stock valued at $553,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.77% of the company's stock.

Dollar General Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DG traded up $0.90 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $96.51. The company had a trading volume of 1,353,636 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,250,417. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The stock has a market cap of $21.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.40. Dollar General Co. has a 52-week low of $66.43 and a 52-week high of $147.87. The company's 50 day moving average price is $82.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $78.51.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 13th. The company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $10.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.26 billion. Dollar General had a return on equity of 18.85% and a net margin of 3.33%. Dollar General's revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.83 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Dollar General Co. will post 5.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 8th. Dollar General's dividend payout ratio is 46.18%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on DG shares. Gordon Haskett downgraded shares of Dollar General from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Dollar General from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays decreased their target price 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. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Dollar General in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Dollar General from $108.00 to $95.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Dollar General presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $94.75.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Emily C. Taylor sold 809 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 48,532 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,596,951.04. This trade represents a 1.64 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

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.