Hartford Investment Management Co. Has $1.04 Million Stock Holdings in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

Hartford Investment Management Co. decreased its stake in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,646 shares of the company’s stock after selling 264 shares during the quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Dollar General were worth $1,035,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in DG. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its position in Dollar General by 453.4% in the third quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 10,238,886 shares of the company’s stock worth $865,903,000 after purchasing an additional 8,388,735 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Dollar General by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,958,704 shares of the company’s stock worth $842,208,000 after buying an additional 759,869 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Dollar General by 3.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,243,012 shares of the company’s stock worth $441,899,000 after buying an additional 182,300 shares during the last quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA acquired a new position in Dollar General in the third quarter valued at approximately $194,832,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Dollar General by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,434,960 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,355,000 after acquiring an additional 31,200 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

Dollar General Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of DG stock opened at $72.57 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $73.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $84.86. Dollar General Co. has a 1 year low of $66.43 and a 1 year high of $168.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.96, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.43.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $10.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.14 billion. Dollar General had a net margin of 3.33% and a return on equity of 18.85%. Dollar General’s revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.26 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Dollar General Co. will post 5.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 7th were paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 7th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.25%. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Michael M. Calbert sold 6,000 shares of Dollar General stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.27, for a total transaction of $451,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 120,322 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,056,636.94. This trade represents a 4.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Emily C. Taylor sold 4,740 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,575 shares in the company, valued at $1,206,128. This represents a 23.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Dollar General from $97.00 to $82.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Dollar General from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Dollar General in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $98.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Gordon Haskett downgraded shares of Dollar General from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $96.77.

About Dollar General

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.