Markel Group Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

Markel Group Inc. boosted its position in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 742,250 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 45,000 shares during the period. Markel Group Inc.’s holdings in Dollar General were worth $62,772,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of DG. Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in Dollar General during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in Dollar General during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Studio Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Dollar General by 117.7% during the 2nd quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Dollar General during the 2nd quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Dollar General during the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Dollar General

In other news, EVP Steven R. Deckard sold 2,010 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.66, for a total transaction of $174,186.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,887 shares in the company, valued at approximately $250,187.42. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Steven R. Deckard sold 2,010 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.66, for a total value of $174,186.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $250,187.42. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Roderick J. West sold 2,510 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.25, for a total transaction of $208,957.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $762,819.75. The trade was a 0.00 % 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 company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Dollar General from $118.00 to $95.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Dollar General from $97.00 to $82.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Argus decreased their price target on shares of Dollar General from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 15th. Daiwa America cut shares of Dollar General from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Raymond James decreased their price target on shares of Dollar General from $150.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $107.05.

Dollar General Stock Performance

NYSE DG opened at $77.00 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $82.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $112.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. Dollar General Co. has a 12-month low of $76.76 and a 12-month high of $168.07. The firm has a market cap of $16.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.96, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.45.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The company reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $10.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.37 billion. Dollar General had a net margin of 3.57% and a return on equity of 20.62%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.13 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Dollar General Co. will post 5.86 EPS for the current year.

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 8th were issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 8th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.06%. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.65%.

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.