KBC Group NV Grows Stock Position in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 34,376 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 660 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Dollar General were worth $2,907,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 11.3% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 20,790,023 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,244,491,000 after purchasing an additional 2,113,485 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Dollar General by 11.2% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 20,217,480 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,155,141,000 after buying an additional 2,031,593 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in Dollar General by 148.6% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,280,020 shares of the company’s stock worth $169,257,000 after acquiring an additional 765,206 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in shares of Dollar General by 319.6% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 925,083 shares of the company’s stock valued at $122,324,000 after acquiring an additional 704,639 shares during the period. Finally, Markel Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Dollar General by 6.5% during the third quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 742,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,772,000 after acquiring an additional 45,000 shares during the last quarter. 91.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Dollar General

In other news, EVP Steven R. Deckard sold 2,010 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.66, for a total value of $174,186.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,887 shares in the company, valued at approximately $250,187.42. This represents a 41.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Roderick J. West sold 2,510 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.25, for a total transaction of $208,957.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $762,819.75. This trade represents a 21.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on DG. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Dollar General from $101.00 to $97.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Bank of America reduced their target price on Dollar General from $118.00 to $95.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Melius Research initiated coverage on Dollar General in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $85.00 price target for the company. Bernstein Bank reduced their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $98.00 to $94.00 in a research report on Friday. Finally, Raymond James dropped their target price on shares of Dollar General from $150.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $104.45.

Dollar General Stock Performance

NYSE DG opened at $75.88 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.69 billion, a PE ratio of 11.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.45. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $81.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $109.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 0.24. Dollar General Co. has a 1-year low of $73.51 and a 1-year high of $168.07.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 period in the previous year, the business earned $2.13 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Dollar General Co. will post 5.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.11%. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.65%.

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.