Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) Shares Sold by Victory Capital Management Inc.

Victory Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 136,629 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,348 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Papa John’s International were worth $10,415,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cutler Group LLC CA acquired a new position in shares of Papa John’s International in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in Papa John’s International by 277.8% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 733 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 539 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Papa John’s International by 23.5% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 819 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Papa John’s International by 89.3% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 493 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Papa John’s International during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $72,000.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Laurette T. Koellner sold 2,886 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.21, for a total transaction of $202,626.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,804 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,320,228.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 8.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Papa John’s International Stock Up 0.2 %

NASDAQ PZZA opened at $53.32 on Monday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $64.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $68.99. The firm has a market cap of $1.76 billion, a PE ratio of 23.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.16. Papa John’s International, Inc. has a 52 week low of $52.07 and a 52 week high of $86.38.

Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.09. Papa John’s International had a net margin of 3.50% and a negative return on equity of 19.46%. The company had revenue of $513.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $544.46 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.68 earnings per share. Papa John’s International’s quarterly revenue was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Papa John’s International, Inc. will post 2.53 EPS for the current year.

Papa John’s International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th will be given a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.45%. Papa John’s International’s payout ratio is 81.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on PZZA shares. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of Papa John’s International from $78.00 to $64.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Benchmark lowered their price target on Papa John’s International from $87.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Papa John’s International from $77.00 to $58.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. BTIG Research downgraded Papa John’s International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Papa John’s International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 9th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Papa John’s International currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $76.36.

About Papa John’s International

Papa John's International, Inc operates and franchises pizza delivery and carryout restaurants under the Papa John's trademark in the United States and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Domestic Company-Owned Restaurants, North America Commissaries, North America Franchising, and International Operations.