MML Investors Services LLC Sells 453 Shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

MML Investors Services LLC lessened its stake in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,955 shares of the company’s stock after selling 453 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC’s holdings in Dollar General were worth $1,180,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Pullen Investment Management LLC increased its holdings 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 valued at $278,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of Dollar General by 30.6% during the 2nd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. raised its position in shares of Dollar General by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. now owns 2,835 shares of the company’s stock valued at $375,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 1,661 shares of the company’s stock valued at $220,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the period. Finally, Lummis Asset Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Lummis Asset Management LP now owns 9,419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,245,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Dollar General

In other Dollar General news, EVP Emily C. Taylor sold 4,740 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.44, for a total value of $367,065.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,206,128. This represents a 23.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on DG. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Dollar General from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Melius Research assumed coverage on shares of Dollar General in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Dollar General in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Dollar General from $154.00 to $102.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.27.

Dollar General Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of DG stock opened at $75.94 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a current ratio of 1.15. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $78.68 and its 200-day moving average is $100.16. The stock has a market cap of $16.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.51, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.44. Dollar General Co. has a 52-week low of $72.12 and a 52-week high of $168.07.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $10.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.14 billion. Dollar General had a net margin of 3.33% and a return on equity of 18.85%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.26 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Dollar General Co. will post 5.77 EPS for the current year.

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 7th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.11%. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.88%.

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.