New York State Common Retirement Fund Acquires 20,655 Shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its stake in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 333,049 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,655 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Dollar General were worth $28,166,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in Dollar General during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Dollar General during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Studio Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Dollar General by 117.7% in the 2nd quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 283 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Dollar General in the 2nd quarter worth $37,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Dollar General during the second quarter valued at about $39,000. 91.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Roderick J. West sold 2,510 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $762,819.75. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Roderick J. West sold 2,510 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.25, for a total transaction of $208,957.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $762,819.75. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Steven R. Deckard sold 2,010 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.66, for a total transaction of $174,186.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 2,887 shares in the company, valued at approximately $250,187.42. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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

DG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup cut Dollar General from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $91.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Loop Capital cut their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $130.00 to $90.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 30th. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Dollar General in a report on Monday, August 26th. Argus dropped their target price on shares of Dollar General from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Dollar General from $118.00 to $95.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Dollar General currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $107.84.

Dollar General Price Performance

Shares of Dollar General stock opened at $81.76 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $17.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 1.22. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $85.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $114.53. Dollar General Co. has a one year low of $77.96 and a one year high of $168.07.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last posted 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.13 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Dollar General Co. will post 5.86 EPS for the current year.

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 8th were given a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 8th. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.