Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) Shares Purchased by Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG - Free Report) by 85.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 58,107 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 26,813 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Dollar General were worth $7,683,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Dollar General by 15.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,071,820 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,408,514,000 after purchasing an additional 3,360,413 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its position in Dollar General by 11.3% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 20,790,023 shares of the company's stock worth $3,244,491,000 after buying an additional 2,113,485 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Dollar General by 11.2% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 20,217,480 shares of the company's stock worth $3,155,141,000 after buying an additional 2,031,593 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its position in Dollar General by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,068,256 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,776,629,000 after acquiring an additional 133,591 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Dollar General in the fourth quarter valued at $337,150,000. Institutional investors own 91.77% of the company's stock.

Dollar General Stock Up 1.2 %

DG stock traded up $1.00 during trading on Monday, reaching $85.75. 3,696,828 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,971,981. The company has a market capitalization of $18.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 1.22. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $112.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $131.96. Dollar General Co. has a 12 month low of $77.96 and a 12 month high of $168.07.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 29th. The company reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Dollar General had a return on equity of 20.62% and a net margin of 3.57%. The firm had revenue of $10.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.13 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Dollar General Co. will post 5.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 8th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.75%. Dollar General's dividend payout ratio is presently 34.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Dollar General news, Director Warren F. Bryant purchased 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $80.40 per share, for a total transaction of $40,200.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 41,030 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,298,812. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Warren F. Bryant purchased 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $80.40 per share, for a total transaction of $40,200.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 41,030 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,298,812. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Warren F. Bryant acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were bought at an average price of $80.83 per share, with a total value of $80,830.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 42,030 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,397,284.90. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.49% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on DG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Dollar General from $130.00 to $97.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Gordon Haskett cut Dollar General from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $90.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Friday, August 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Dollar General from $169.00 to $122.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Telsey Advisory Group downgraded Dollar General from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $168.00 to $103.00 in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on Dollar General from $155.00 to $108.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Dollar General currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $113.95.

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.