First National Trust Co Reduces Holdings in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

First National Trust Co lessened its holdings in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) by 76.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 7,078 shares of the company’s stock after selling 23,223 shares during the quarter. First National Trust Co’s holdings in Dollar General were worth $962,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Comerica Bank purchased a new position in Dollar General during the third quarter worth $12,047,000. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Dollar General by 294.5% during the fourth quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,924 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,573,000 after buying an additional 14,127 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Dollar General during the fourth quarter worth approximately $18,861,000. Professional Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in Dollar General by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Professional Advisory Services Inc. now owns 150,960 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,523,000 after acquiring an additional 16,899 shares during the period. Finally, Nine27 Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Dollar General during the 3rd quarter worth $5,290,000. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Dollar General Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:DG traded up $0.34 during trading on Friday, hitting $137.49. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,268,787 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,959,535. Dollar General Co. has a fifty-two week low of $101.09 and a fifty-two week high of $221.50. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $150.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $136.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a current ratio of 1.19. The company has a market capitalization of $30.20 billion, a PE ratio of 18.19, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.44.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.09. Dollar General had a return on equity of 26.13% and a net margin of 4.29%. The company had revenue of $9.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.96 EPS. Dollar General’s quarterly revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Dollar General Co. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th were given a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 8th. Dollar General’s payout ratio is currently 31.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on DG shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Dollar General from $130.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $125.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $170.00 target price on shares of Dollar General in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Dollar General from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Dollar General from $162.00 to $160.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $153.08.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Carman R. Wenkoff sold 5,909 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.23, for a total value of $958,617.07. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,579 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,636,371.17. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Ralph Santana sold 3,009 shares of Dollar General stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.72, for a total value of $468,561.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $505,778.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Carman R. Wenkoff sold 5,909 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.23, for a total transaction of $958,617.07. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 28,579 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,636,371.17. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.49% 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.