Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX Takes Position in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX bought a new stake in shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $339,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DG. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 18.9% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,711,407 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,297,067,000 after buying an additional 3,457,393 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Dollar General during the fourth quarter worth $337,150,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 98.1% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,106,653 shares of the company’s stock worth $222,884,000 after buying an additional 1,043,141 shares in the last quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA grew its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 283.1% during the third quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA now owns 927,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,077,000 after buying an additional 685,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 78.6% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,426,318 shares of the company’s stock worth $150,904,000 after buying an additional 627,844 shares in the last quarter. 91.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on DG shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Dollar General from $130.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Dollar General from $162.00 to $160.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Argus boosted their price target on shares of Dollar General from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Dollar General from $158.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Dollar General from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Dollar General currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $153.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Ralph Santana sold 3,009 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.72, for a total transaction of $468,561.48. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,248 shares in the company, valued at $505,778.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Dollar General news, Director Ralph Santana sold 3,009 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.72, for a total value of $468,561.48. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,248 shares in the company, valued at $505,778.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Carman R. Wenkoff sold 5,909 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.23, for a total transaction of $958,617.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 28,579 shares in the company, valued at $4,636,371.17. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Dollar General Trading Up 4.2 %

NYSE:DG traded up $5.84 on Friday, reaching $144.96. 1,364,068 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,283,362. The company has a quick ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.44. The business has a fifty day moving average of $146.85 and a 200-day moving average of $138.74. Dollar General Co. has a 52-week low of $101.09 and a 52-week high of $206.26.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.09. Dollar General had a net margin of 4.29% and a return on equity of 26.13%. The company had revenue of $9.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.96 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Dollar General Co. will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 9th were paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 8th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.63%. Dollar General’s payout ratio is 31.22%.

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.