Avior Wealth Management LLC Sells 941 Shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

Avior Wealth Management LLC reduced its stake in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) by 73.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 332 shares of the company’s stock after selling 941 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Dollar General were worth $28,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 148.6% in the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,280,020 shares of the company’s stock worth $169,257,000 after purchasing an additional 765,206 shares during the last quarter. Equity Investment Corp grew its holdings in Dollar General by 60.8% during the 3rd quarter. Equity Investment Corp now owns 951,329 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,454,000 after buying an additional 359,757 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in Dollar General by 319.6% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 925,083 shares of the company’s stock worth $122,324,000 after acquiring an additional 704,639 shares during the last quarter. Markel Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 742,250 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,772,000 after acquiring an additional 45,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank boosted its position in shares of Dollar General by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 652,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,190,000 after acquiring an additional 2,100 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

Dollar General Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DG opened at $76.57 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $80.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $107.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 1.22. Dollar General Co. has a one year low of $72.12 and a one year high of $168.07. The firm has a market cap of $16.84 billion, a PE ratio of 11.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.45.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 29th. The company reported $1.70 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.13 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Dollar General Co. will post 5.85 EPS for the current year.

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 8th were paid a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 8th. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.65%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Roderick J. West sold 2,510 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $762,819.75. This trade represents a 21.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Warren F. Bryant bought 500 shares of Dollar General stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $80.40 per share, with a total value of $40,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 41,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,298,812. This represents a 1.23 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.49% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup cut shares of Dollar General from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $91.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Friday, September 27th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Dollar General from $155.00 to $108.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 30th. Bernstein Bank lowered their price target on shares of Dollar General from $98.00 to $94.00 in a report on Friday, November 15th. HSBC reduced their price objective on Dollar General from $100.00 to $88.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Raymond James decreased their price objective on Dollar General from $150.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $104.00.

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.