Amiral Gestion Grows Stake in Domino's Pizza Inc $DPZ

Key Points

• Amiral Gestion increased its Domino’s Pizza stake by 31.8% in the first quarter, buying 8,000 more shares and bringing its total to 33,160 shares worth about $11.9 million.
• Wall Street remains broadly constructive on DPZ, with several firms maintaining Buy or Hold-equivalent ratings even as multiple analysts lowered price targets; the consensus target is about $412.97.
• Domino’s is facing near-term pressure from weaker sales and leadership changes, as same-store sales remain below target and CEO Russell Weiner is set to retire, with COO Joe Jordan slated to take over in late September.

Amiral Gestion boosted its stake in shares of Domino's Pizza Inc (NASDAQ:DPZ - Free Report) by 31.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 33,160 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 8,000 shares during the period. Domino's Pizza accounts for about 6.6% of Amiral Gestion's investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Amiral Gestion owned 0.10% of Domino's Pizza worth $11,897,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Berkshire Hathaway Inc raised its holdings in shares of Domino's Pizza by 13.2% in the 3rd quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc now owns 2,981,945 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $1,287,335,000 after purchasing an additional 348,077 shares during the period. Marshfield Associates lifted its stake in Domino's Pizza by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Marshfield Associates now owns 744,515 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $321,415,000 after purchasing an additional 28,765 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its holdings in Domino's Pizza by 55.7% during the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 45,212 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $18,845,000 after purchasing an additional 16,179 shares during the period. Amica Mutual Insurance Co. grew its holdings in Domino's Pizza by 59.8% during the fourth quarter. Amica Mutual Insurance Co. now owns 16,576 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $6,909,000 after purchasing an additional 6,203 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Domino's Pizza by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 67,117 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $28,544,000 after buying an additional 6,223 shares during the last quarter. 94.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Domino's Pizza News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Domino's Pizza this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Several firms still see meaningful upside in Domino's despite trimming targets: TD Cowen reaffirmed a hold rating with a $350 target, JPMorgan kept an overweight rating with a $380 target, and BTIG and Baird maintained constructive views with $425 and $350 targets, respectively. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts generally kept favorable ratings in place, suggesting the recent selloff may be driven more by uncertainty than by a full deterioration in the long-term outlook. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Domino's announced a leadership succession plan, with COO Joe Jordan set to become CEO in late September as Russell Weiner retires and becomes executive chairman. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: The company also acknowledged that same-store sales are still tracking below target, which may be tempering confidence in a near-term recovery. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Investors appear concerned that the CEO retirement signals a leadership change during a period of slowing pizza sales, which has pressured the stock. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Recent estimate cuts from JPMorgan, BTIG, and Baird reflect a more cautious near-term view, even though their targets remain above the current share price. Article Title

Insider Activity at Domino's Pizza

In related news, EVP Kelly E. Garcia sold 488 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.16, for a total transaction of $152,822.08. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 9,352 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,928,672.32. This trade represents a 4.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 1,463 shares of company stock valued at $466,807 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.89% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on DPZ shares. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on Domino's Pizza from $470.00 to $390.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $325.00 target price on shares of Domino's Pizza in a report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Domino's Pizza from $480.00 to $430.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Domino's Pizza in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Evercore cut their price target on Domino's Pizza from $510.00 to $400.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $412.97.

Domino's Pizza Trading Down 4.1%

Domino's Pizza stock opened at $282.89 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.29, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.97. Domino's Pizza Inc has a 12 month low of $282.00 and a 12 month high of $496.00. The stock's 50 day moving average is $326.10 and its 200-day moving average is $373.83.

Domino's Pizza (NASDAQ:DPZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The restaurant operator reported $4.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.29 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $1.15 billion for the quarter. Domino's Pizza had a negative return on equity of 15.04% and a net margin of 11.89%.The company's revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Domino's Pizza Inc will post 19.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Domino's Pizza Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $1.99 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $7.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Domino's Pizza's dividend payout ratio is 45.83%.

About Domino's Pizza

Domino's Pizza, Inc NASDAQ: DPZ is a global pizza delivery and carryout chain founded in 1960 and headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The company specializes in a broad range of hand‐crafted pizzas, including hand-tossed, thin crust and specialty offerings, alongside side items such as chicken wings, sandwiches, pasta, desserts and beverages. Domino's has built its brand on convenience and speed, leveraging proprietary ordering platforms and its Domino's Tracker system to provide real-time status updates from order placement through delivery.

Operating predominantly under a franchise model, Domino's has more than 17,000 stores worldwide, with approximately 95% of outlets owned and operated by independent franchisees.

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