Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) Shares Sold by Benedict Financial Advisors Inc.

Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) by 9.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,182 shares of the company’s stock after selling 345 shares during the quarter. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Dollar General were worth $241,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Metis Global Partners LLC increased its position in Dollar General by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 7,042 shares of the company’s stock valued at $596,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC increased its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 2.0% in the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 7,768 shares of the company’s stock valued at $657,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Dollar General by 20.3% during the fourth quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 953 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Peoples Bank KS lifted its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 19.1% during the fourth quarter. Peoples Bank KS now owns 1,435 shares of the company’s stock worth $109,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the period. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. grew its position in Dollar General by 13.3% in the 3rd quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 2,058 shares of the company’s stock valued at $174,000 after buying an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. 91.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Dollar General Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DG opened at $72.51 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $74.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $86.10. Dollar General Co. has a 52 week low of $66.43 and a 52 week high of $168.07. The company has a market cap of $15.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.43. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.08). Dollar General had a net margin of 3.33% and a return on equity of 18.85%. The company had revenue of $10.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.26 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Dollar General Co. will post 5.75 EPS for the current year.

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th were issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 7th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.25%. Dollar General’s payout ratio is 38.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Emily C. Taylor sold 4,740 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.44, for a total value of $367,065.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,206,128. This trade represents a 23.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Michael M. Calbert sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,056,636.94. This trade represents a 4.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on DG shares. Morgan Stanley reduced 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. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Dollar General from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Dollar General from $110.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Dollar General from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Dollar General in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $98.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $96.77.

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.