Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. Decreases Stock Position in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. reduced its position in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) by 48.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,190 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,865 shares during the period. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P.’s holdings in Dollar General were worth $394,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IMG Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Dollar General during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Dollar General during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Providence First Trust Co purchased a new stake in Dollar General during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Bogart Wealth LLC raised its stake in Dollar General by 279.8% during the 4th quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 361 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Dollar General by 126.4% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 498 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Dollar General Stock Up 1.2 %

DG opened at $82.38 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $74.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $77.73. Dollar General Co. has a 52 week low of $66.43 and a 52 week high of $164.12. The company has a market capitalization of $18.12 billion, a PE ratio of 13.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 13th. The company reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.17. Dollar General had a net margin of 3.33% and a return on equity of 18.85%. The business had revenue of $10.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.83 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Dollar General Co. will post 5.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 8th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 8th. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio is 46.18%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Dollar General from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Dollar General from $108.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective (down from $90.00) on shares of Dollar General in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Barclays reduced their price objective on Dollar General from $102.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Dollar General from $97.00 to $95.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $92.26.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Michael M. Calbert sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 31st. The shares were 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 approximately $9,056,636.94. This represents a 4.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

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.