New York State Common Retirement Fund Increases Holdings in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its stake in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 355,937 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,146 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.16% of Dollar General worth $48,390,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Comerica Bank bought a new stake in Dollar General during the 3rd quarter valued at about $12,047,000. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Dollar General by 294.5% during the fourth quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,924 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,573,000 after acquiring an additional 14,127 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Dollar General in the 4th quarter worth approximately $18,861,000. Professional Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in Dollar General by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Professional Advisory Services Inc. now owns 150,960 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,523,000 after acquiring an additional 16,899 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Live Oak Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Dollar General during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,374,000. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ralph Santana sold 3,009 shares of Dollar General stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.72, for a total transaction of $468,561.48. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,248 shares in the company, valued at $505,778.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Dollar General news, Director Ralph Santana sold 3,009 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.72, for a total transaction of $468,561.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $505,778.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Carman R. Wenkoff sold 5,909 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.23, for a total value of $958,617.07. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 28,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,636,371.17. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Dollar General Stock Performance

DG opened at $143.21 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $31.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.94, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.42. Dollar General Co. has a 1-year low of $101.09 and a 1-year high of $222.99. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $150.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $135.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.15.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $9.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.77 billion. Dollar General had a net margin of 4.29% and a return on equity of 26.13%. Dollar General’s quarterly revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.96 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Dollar General Co. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 9th were paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 8th. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on DG. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Dollar General in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 target price on shares of Dollar General in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Dollar General from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Dollar General from $162.00 to $160.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $153.08.

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.