Franklin Resources Inc. Has $5.52 Million Holdings in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) by 17.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 69,173 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,333 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Dollar General were worth $5,517,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of DG. Studio Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Dollar General by 117.7% in the second quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Dollar General in the 2nd quarter valued at $46,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its holdings 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 worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Dollar General during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC increased its stake in Dollar General by 73.9% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 447 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the period. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Dollar General from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Telsey Advisory Group decreased their price target on Dollar General from $103.00 to $90.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Bank of America upgraded Dollar General from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $95.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Citigroup downgraded 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 research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped 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 report on Tuesday, December 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Dollar General presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.27.

Dollar General Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DG opened at $74.62 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. Dollar General Co. has a 1-year low of $72.12 and a 1-year high of $168.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.44. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $78.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $99.04.

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

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 7th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.16%. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.88%.

Insider Activity at Dollar General

In other news, EVP Emily C. Taylor sold 4,740 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.44, for a total transaction of $367,065.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,575 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,206,128. The trade was a 23.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.