Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. Trims Stake in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. reduced its position in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) by 48.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm 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 quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Dollar General in the 4th quarter worth about $57,000. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC raised its position in Dollar General by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC now owns 28,827 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,186,000 after purchasing an additional 4,048 shares during the period. Leibman Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Dollar General in the 4th quarter worth about $2,018,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Dollar General by 62.9% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 166,574 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,087,000 after purchasing an additional 64,336 shares during the period. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its position in shares of Dollar General by 5,624.9% during the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 321,623 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,385,000 after acquiring an additional 316,005 shares during the period. 91.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Dollar General Price Performance

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

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 13th. The company reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.83 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Dollar General Co. will post 5.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Dollar General Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Dollar General

In related news, Director Michael M. Calbert sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.27, for a total transaction of $451,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 120,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,056,636.94. This trade represents a 4.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DG has been the topic of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Dollar General from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Dollar General from $79.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Dollar General from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Dollar General from $108.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Dollar General from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $92.26.

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.