Patten & Patten Inc. TN Has $263,000 Holdings in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

Patten & Patten Inc. TN cut its holdings in shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) by 30.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,474 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,502 shares during the quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN’s holdings in Dollar General were worth $263,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Dollar General during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Providence First Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Dollar General during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Bogart Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Dollar General by 279.8% during the 4th quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 490 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Dollar General by 126.4% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 498 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Dollar General during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Dollar General Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DG opened at $79.15 on Monday. Dollar General Co. has a 1-year low of $66.43 and a 1-year high of $164.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.41 billion, a PE ratio of 13.04, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.44. The business’s 50 day moving average is $73.69 and its 200-day moving average is $77.74. 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 (NYSE:DG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 13th. The company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.17. Dollar General had a return on equity of 18.85% and a net margin of 3.33%. The company had revenue of $10.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.83 EPS. Dollar General’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Dollar General Co. will post 5.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 8th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 8th. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio is 46.18%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on DG. Citigroup cut their price target on Dollar General from $73.00 to $69.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Dollar General from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Gordon Haskett downgraded Dollar General from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Dollar General from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Dollar General from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $92.26.

Insider Activity at Dollar General

In related news, Director Michael M. Calbert sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.27, for a total value of $451,620.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 120,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,056,636.94. The trade was a 4.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.49% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.