Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) Shares Bought by Birch Capital Management LLC

Birch Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 19,966 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,561 shares during the quarter. Birch Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Dollar General were worth $1,689,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Dollar General by 15.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,071,820 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,408,514,000 after buying an additional 3,360,413 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in Dollar General by 11.3% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 20,790,023 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,244,491,000 after buying an additional 2,113,485 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 11.2% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 20,217,480 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,155,141,000 after acquiring an additional 2,031,593 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Dollar General during the first quarter worth approximately $301,738,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Dollar General by 148.6% during the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,280,020 shares of the company’s stock worth $169,257,000 after acquiring an additional 765,206 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

Dollar General Price Performance

DG stock traded up $1.33 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $81.09. 3,087,939 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,081,233. 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’s 50 day moving average price is $96.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $121.68. Dollar General Co. has a 52-week low of $77.96 and a 52-week high of $168.07. The company has a market cap of $17.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.61, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.44.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 last year, the firm earned $2.13 EPS. Dollar General’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Dollar General Co. will post 5.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 8th. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Dollar General from $118.00 to $95.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Dollar General from $154.00 to $102.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Dollar General from $169.00 to $122.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Dollar General from $130.00 to $97.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on Dollar General from $155.00 to $108.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $108.11.

Insider Transactions at Dollar General

In other news, EVP Steven R. Deckard sold 2,010 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.66, for a total value of $174,186.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,887 shares in the company, valued at $250,187.42. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Steven R. Deckard sold 2,010 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.66, for a total value of $174,186.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $250,187.42. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Roderick J. West sold 2,510 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.25, for a total value of $208,957.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $762,819.75. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

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.