Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 130 Shares of Domino’s Pizza, Inc. (NASDAQ:DPZ)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its position in Domino’s Pizza, Inc. (NASDAQ:DPZ) by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,856 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 130 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Domino’s Pizza were worth $779,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. KG&L Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Domino’s Pizza by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. KG&L Capital Management LLC now owns 1,725 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $724,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Domino’s Pizza by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 1,157 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $486,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust increased its position in shares of Domino’s Pizza by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 854 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $358,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Domino’s Pizza by 40.0% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 91 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Domino’s Pizza by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,017 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $427,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Kelly E. Garcia sold 2,104 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $436.28, for a total transaction of $917,933.12. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 5,699 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,486,359.72. This trade represents a 26.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Kevin Scott Morris sold 5,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $437.00, for a total value of $2,366,792.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 793 shares in the company, valued at $346,541. This trade represents a 87.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 8,597 shares of company stock valued at $3,762,052 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Domino’s Pizza Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ DPZ opened at $466.04 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $456.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $440.30. Domino’s Pizza, Inc. has a 12 month low of $396.06 and a 12 month high of $542.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.98 billion, a PE ratio of 28.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.06.

Domino’s Pizza (NASDAQ:DPZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The restaurant operator reported $4.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.93 by ($0.04). Domino’s Pizza had a negative return on equity of 14.35% and a net margin of 12.26%. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.48 earnings per share. Domino’s Pizza’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Domino’s Pizza, Inc. will post 16.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Domino’s Pizza Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $1.74 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. This is a positive change from Domino’s Pizza’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.51. Domino’s Pizza’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on DPZ. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $490.00 price target on shares of Domino’s Pizza in a report on Monday, February 24th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $520.00 price target on shares of Domino’s Pizza in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Domino’s Pizza from $440.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on Domino’s Pizza from $559.00 to $555.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Domino’s Pizza in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Domino’s Pizza has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $503.41.

About Domino’s Pizza

Domino’s Pizza, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates as a pizza company in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: U.S. Stores, International Franchise, and Supply Chain. It offers pizzas under the Domino’s brand name through company-owned and franchised stores.