ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Cuts Position in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. lessened its position in shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) by 15.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 125,625 shares of the company’s stock after selling 22,195 shares during the quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. owned about 0.06% of Dollar General worth $17,079,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Dollar General during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Studio Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Dollar General in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. First Manhattan Co. lifted its stake in shares of Dollar General by 447.4% in the 4th quarter. First Manhattan Co. now owns 104 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Financial Freedom LLC bought a new stake in shares of Dollar General in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of Dollar General in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

Dollar General Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:DG traded down $0.86 on Friday, reaching $144.82. The company had a trading volume of 1,517,479 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,365,952. Dollar General Co. has a 52-week low of $101.09 and a 52-week high of $222.99. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $149.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $134.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.81 billion, a PE ratio of 19.16, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.09. Dollar General had a return on equity of 26.13% and a net margin of 4.29%. The business had revenue of $9.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.77 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.96 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Dollar General Co. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 8th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.63%. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DG has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Dollar General from $125.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Dollar General from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $147.00 price objective (up from $127.00) on shares of Dollar General in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Argus raised their price target on Dollar General from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 price target on shares of Dollar General in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $153.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.