Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 2,626 Shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) by 19.4% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 10,911 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,626 shares during the quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Dollar General were worth $959,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IMG Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Dollar General in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Dollar General during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Dollar General in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Providence First Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Dollar General in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Bogart Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Dollar General by 279.8% in the fourth quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 361 shares in the last quarter. 91.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Dollar General in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Dollar General from $96.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Oppenheimer raised Dollar General from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $130.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Dollar General from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $120.00 target price on Dollar General in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $109.04.

Dollar General Stock Performance

NYSE DG opened at $111.11 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $24.45 billion, a PE ratio of 18.31, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.26. Dollar General Co. has a fifty-two week low of $66.43 and a fifty-two week high of $135.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a current ratio of 1.15. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $95.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $83.13.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, June 3rd. The company reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $10.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.25 billion. Dollar General had a return on equity of 18.85% and a net margin of 3.33%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.65 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Dollar General Co. will post 5.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 8th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 8th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Emily C. Taylor sold 809 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.72, for a total transaction of $76,628.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 48,532 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,596,951.04. This trade represents a 1.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.56% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.