Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. Sells 19,359 Shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. reduced its stake in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) by 23.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 64,140 shares of the company’s stock after selling 19,359 shares during the period. Dollar General makes up approximately 1.2% of Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc.’s holdings in Dollar General were worth $8,720,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on DG. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Dollar General from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Dollar General from $158.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. StockNews.com raised shares of Dollar General from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Dollar General from $130.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Dollar General from $147.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Dollar General currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $153.08.

Dollar General Price Performance

NYSE:DG traded down $1.96 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $139.19. The stock had a trading volume of 1,752,836 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,308,761. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $150.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $136.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.58 billion, a PE ratio of 18.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.42. Dollar General Co. has a 12 month low of $101.09 and a 12 month high of $221.50. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Dollar General had a return on equity of 26.13% and a net margin of 4.29%. The business had revenue of $9.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.96 EPS. Dollar General’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Dollar General Co. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 9th were issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 8th. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.22%.

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.