Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) Shares Bought by Monarch Capital Management Inc.

Monarch Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) by 183.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 11,328 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 7,330 shares during the period. Monarch Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Dollar General were worth $859,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Dollar General during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $46,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 30.6% in the second quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 376 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Dollar General during the third quarter worth $33,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Dollar General during the third quarter valued at $57,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Dollar General by 37.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 792 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

Dollar General Price Performance

Dollar General stock opened at $68.44 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.44. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $75.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $91.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a current ratio of 1.15. Dollar General Co. has a 1 year low of $66.43 and a 1 year high of $168.07.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.08). Dollar General had a net margin of 3.33% and a return on equity of 18.85%. The company had revenue of $10.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.26 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Dollar General Co. will post 5.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th will be issued 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 3.45%. Dollar General’s payout ratio is currently 38.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays lowered their price target on Dollar General from $102.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Bernstein Bank dropped their target price on Dollar General from $98.00 to $94.00 in a research report on Friday, November 15th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Dollar General from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. HSBC decreased their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $100.00 to $88.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Dollar General from $97.00 to $82.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Dollar General presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.18.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Emily C. Taylor sold 4,740 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.44, for a total transaction of $367,065.60. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael M. Calbert sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.27, for a total transaction of $451,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 120,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,056,636.94. The trade was a 4.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

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.