Calamos Advisors LLC Sells 643 Shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

Calamos Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 49,238 shares of the company’s stock after selling 643 shares during the period. Calamos Advisors LLC’s holdings in Dollar General were worth $6,694,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in DG. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Dollar General during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Studio Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Dollar General in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. First Manhattan Co. boosted its stake in shares of Dollar General by 447.4% during the 4th quarter. First Manhattan Co. now owns 104 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Financial Freedom LLC acquired a new position in shares of Dollar General during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in Dollar General in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Dollar General Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DG opened at $144.82 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $149.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $134.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.15. Dollar General Co. has a 1 year low of $101.09 and a 1 year high of $222.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.42.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.09. Dollar General had a return on equity of 26.13% and a net margin of 4.29%. The company had revenue of $9.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.96 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Dollar General Co. will post 7.28 EPS 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 8th. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on DG shares. Barclays upgraded shares of Dollar General from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $124.00 to $154.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $170.00 price target on shares of Dollar General in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $158.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Dollar General in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Dollar General from $130.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $153.08.

Dollar General 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.