APG Asset Management N.V. Grows Stock Holdings in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

APG Asset Management N.V. lifted its position in shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) by 218.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,941 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,100 shares during the period. APG Asset Management N.V.’s holdings in Dollar General were worth $3,077,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Fortis Group Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Dollar General by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 200 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in Dollar General in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. lifted its position in Dollar General by 104.9% in the first quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in Dollar General in the second quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Dollar General in the first quarter valued at $40,000. 91.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on DG shares. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Dollar General in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Telsey Advisory Group cut shares of Dollar General from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $168.00 to $103.00 in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Argus reduced their price target on shares of Dollar General from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Dollar General from $145.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Citigroup cut shares of Dollar General from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $91.00 to $73.00 in a report on Friday. Two 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $109.48.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Dollar General Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Dollar General stock opened at $87.32 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $104.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $127.12. Dollar General Co. has a 52-week low of $77.96 and a 52-week high of $168.07. The firm has a market cap of $19.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.44.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). Dollar General had a return on equity of 20.62% and a net margin of 3.57%. The company had revenue of $10.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.13 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Dollar General Co. will post 5.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Dollar General Announces Dividend

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

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.