Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) Shares Acquired by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) by 319.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 925,083 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 704,639 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Dollar General were worth $122,324,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its stake in shares of Dollar General by 12.4% in the first quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 689 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Dollar General by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,425 shares of the company’s stock valued at $378,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Dollar General by 3.5% during the first quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $373,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Pullen Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Dollar General by 4.3% in the second quarter. Pullen Investment Management LLC now owns 2,105 shares of the company’s stock worth $278,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Dollar General by 14.8% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $109,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Dollar General

In other news, EVP Roderick J. West sold 2,510 shares of Dollar General stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.25, for a total value of $208,957.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $762,819.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Steven R. Deckard sold 2,010 shares of Dollar General stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.66, for a total value of $174,186.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 2,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $250,187.42. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Roderick J. West sold 2,510 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.25, for a total transaction of $208,957.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $762,819.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Dollar General Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:DG opened at $87.31 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $105.26 and a 200-day moving average of $128.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market cap of $19.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.44. Dollar General Co. has a twelve month low of $77.96 and a twelve month high of $168.07.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The company reported $1.70 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $10.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Dollar General Co. will post 5.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 8th will be given a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 8th. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on DG. Citigroup downgraded Dollar General from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $91.00 to $73.00 in a report on Friday. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Dollar General from $118.00 to $95.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 30th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $130.00 to $90.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 30th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Dollar General from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $170.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $169.00 to $122.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $109.48.

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.