Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Has $250.58 Million Stake in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. cut its holdings in shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) by 13.0% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,895,049 shares of the company’s stock after selling 284,202 shares during the quarter. Dollar General comprises about 0.6% of Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Dollar General were worth $250,582,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 12.4% during the first quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 689 shares of the company’s stock worth $108,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 3.3% during the first quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,425 shares of the company’s stock worth $378,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Dollar General by 3.5% in the first quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $373,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Pullen Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Dollar General by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Pullen Investment Management LLC now owns 2,105 shares of the company’s stock valued at $278,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC raised its stake in Dollar General by 14.8% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $109,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on DG shares. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Dollar General from $130.00 to $90.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Gordon Haskett cut Dollar General from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $90.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Dollar General from $145.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Dollar General from $154.00 to $102.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Dollar General currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $113.95.

Dollar General Price Performance

DG opened at $80.98 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.79, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. Dollar General Co. has a 12-month low of $77.96 and a 12-month high of $168.07. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $116.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $133.63.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Dollar General had a net margin of 3.57% and a return on equity of 20.62%. The business had revenue of $10.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.13 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Dollar General Co. will post 5.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Warren F. Bryant bought 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $80.40 per share, with a total value of $40,200.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 41,030 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,298,812. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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.