Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Buys Shares of 32,492 Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd acquired a new stake in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 32,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,833,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Dollar General by 85.7% during the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 58,107 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,683,000 after buying an additional 26,813 shares in the last quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 231.6% during the third quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. now owns 37,462 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,168,000 after acquiring an additional 26,165 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 278.1% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 64,628 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,086,000 after purchasing an additional 47,534 shares in the last quarter. Kiltearn Partners LLP bought a new stake in Dollar General in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $9,587,000. Finally, MBB Public Markets I LLC lifted its position in Dollar General by 642.0% during the 2nd quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC now owns 15,923 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,105,000 after buying an additional 13,777 shares in the last quarter. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Dollar General

In related news, Director Warren F. Bryant acquired 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $80.40 per share, with a total value of $40,200.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 41,030 shares in the company, valued at $3,298,812. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Dollar General news, Director Warren F. Bryant acquired 1,000 shares of Dollar General stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $80.83 per share, for a total transaction of $80,830.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 42,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,397,284.90. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Warren F. Bryant purchased 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $80.40 per share, with a total value of $40,200.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 41,030 shares in the company, valued at $3,298,812. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.49% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Dollar General from $130.00 to $97.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Citigroup lowered shares of Dollar General from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $91.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Morgan Stanley cut Dollar General from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $170.00 to $100.00 in a report on Friday, August 30th. Telsey Advisory Group downgraded shares of Dollar General from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $168.00 to $103.00 in a report on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Argus dropped their price objective on Dollar General from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Dollar General has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $107.84.

Dollar General Price Performance

DG stock opened at $80.38 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The company’s 50-day moving average is $89.58 and its 200-day moving average is $117.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.68 billion, a PE ratio of 11.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.44. Dollar General Co. has a 1 year low of $77.96 and a 1 year high of $168.07.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The company reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $10.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.13 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Dollar General Co. will post 5.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 8th were issued a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 8th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.94%. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.35%.

Dollar General Company 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.