Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) Shares Purchased by Allianz Asset Management GmbH

Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its holdings in shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) by 96.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 742,144 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 363,739 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH owned approximately 0.34% of Dollar General worth $56,269,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of DG. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Dollar General by 453.4% during the third quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 10,238,886 shares of the company’s stock worth $865,903,000 after purchasing an additional 8,388,735 shares in the last quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA purchased a new stake in Dollar General during the third quarter worth $194,832,000. State Street Corp boosted its position in Dollar General by 8.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,958,704 shares of the company’s stock worth $842,208,000 after purchasing an additional 759,869 shares in the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Dollar General during the third quarter worth $32,932,000. Finally, Equity Investment Corp lifted its position in shares of Dollar General by 60.8% in the third quarter. Equity Investment Corp now owns 951,329 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,454,000 after acquiring an additional 359,757 shares in the last quarter. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Dollar General Stock Performance

Dollar General stock opened at $76.68 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $73.26 and its 200-day moving average is $82.67. The company has a market cap of $16.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.15. Dollar General Co. has a 12 month low of $66.43 and a 12 month high of $168.07.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $10.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.14 billion. Dollar General had a net margin of 3.33% and a return on equity of 18.85%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.26 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Dollar General Co. will post 5.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 7th were issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 7th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.08%. Dollar General’s payout ratio is currently 38.88%.

Insider Activity at Dollar General

In other Dollar General news, Director Michael M. Calbert sold 6,000 shares of Dollar General stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.27, for a total transaction of $451,620.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 120,322 shares in the company, valued at $9,056,636.94. The trade was a 4.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Emily C. Taylor sold 4,740 shares of Dollar General stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.44, for a total value of $367,065.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,575 shares in the company, valued at $1,206,128. This represents a 23.33 % 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 Analysts Forecast Growth

DG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Gordon Haskett lowered Dollar General from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Dollar General from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. HSBC decreased 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. Bank of America raised Dollar General from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Dollar General from $97.00 to $95.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Dollar General currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $96.77.

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.