ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 2,174 Shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 99,265 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,174 shares during the period. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Dollar General were worth $7,526,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC raised its stake in shares of Dollar General by 16.3% in the fourth 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 last quarter. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. bought a new position in Dollar General during the 3rd quarter valued at $5,650,000. Leibman Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Dollar General during the 4th quarter worth $2,018,000. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 231.6% in the third quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. now owns 37,462 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,168,000 after purchasing an additional 26,165 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Dollar General by 62.9% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 166,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,087,000 after purchasing an additional 64,336 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Dollar General

In other Dollar General news, EVP Emily C. Taylor sold 4,740 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.44, for a total transaction of $367,065.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,575 shares in the company, valued at $1,206,128. This trade represents a 23.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael M. Calbert sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.27, for a total value 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. The trade was a 4.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup lowered shares of Dollar General from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $91.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Friday, September 27th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Dollar General from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Dollar General from $97.00 to $82.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Bank of America upgraded Dollar General from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $95.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $94.00 to $83.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Dollar General has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.18.

Dollar General Stock Performance

Dollar General stock opened at $68.44 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $75.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $91.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. Dollar General Co. has a 1-year low of $66.43 and a 1-year high of $168.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.05 billion, a PE ratio of 11.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.44.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $10.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.14 billion. Dollar General had a net margin of 3.33% and a return on equity of 18.85%. Dollar General’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.26 EPS. As a group, analysts expect 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, January 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 7th will be given a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 7th. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.88%.

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.