Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) Shares Acquired by Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) by 19.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,608 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,542 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Papa John’s International were worth $395,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in Papa John’s International by 214.7% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,388 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 947 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its stake in Papa John’s International by 27.2% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in Papa John’s International during the 4th quarter worth $87,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Papa John’s International by 506.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,122 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,000 after acquiring an additional 1,772 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in Papa John’s International by 2,758.7% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,144 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 2,069 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PZZA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of Papa John’s International from $60.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Papa John’s International from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Papa John’s International in a research note on Monday, May 12th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $42.00 price objective (up from $38.00) on shares of Papa John’s International in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of Papa John’s International from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Papa John’s International has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.75.

Papa John’s International Trading Down 1.5%

PZZA stock opened at $43.32 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 1.13. Papa John’s International, Inc. has a 52 week low of $30.16 and a 52 week high of $60.75. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $46.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.55.

Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $529.17 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $515.48 million. Papa John’s International had a net margin of 3.58% and a negative return on equity of 14.42%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.61 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Papa John’s International, Inc. will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Papa John’s International Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.2%. Papa John’s International’s payout ratio is currently 78.30%.

Papa John’s International Profile

Papa John’s International, Inc engages in the operation and franchise of pizza delivery and carryout restaurants. It operates through the following segments: Domestic Company-owned Restaurants, North America Franchising, North America Commissaries, International Operations, and All Others. The Domestic Company-Owned Restaurants segment consists of retail sales of pizza and side items, breadsticks, cheese sticks, chicken poppers and wings, dessert items, and canned and bottled beverages.