Financial Advocates Investment Management Sells 869 Shares of Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA)

Financial Advocates Investment Management reduced its stake in Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) by 12.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,007 shares of the company’s stock after selling 869 shares during the period. Financial Advocates Investment Management’s holdings in Papa Johns International were worth $247,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Irth Capital Management LP bought a new position in Papa Johns International during the fourth quarter worth about $66,883,000. Moody National Bank Trust Division raised its position in shares of Papa Johns International by 142.3% in the 4th quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 22,644 shares of the company’s stock valued at $930,000 after acquiring an additional 13,297 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Papa Johns International by 85.9% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 190,037 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,237,000 after purchasing an additional 87,801 shares during the period. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC increased its stake in Papa Johns International by 19.3% in the third quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 1,091,733 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,812,000 after purchasing an additional 176,470 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Papa Johns International by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 378,676 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,399,000 after buying an additional 28,883 shares during the period.

Papa Johns International Stock Performance

PZZA stock opened at $38.05 on Monday. Papa Johns International, Inc. has a 52 week low of $35.28 and a 52 week high of $76.91. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $41.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.38. The company has a market capitalization of $1.24 billion, a PE ratio of 13.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.19.

Papa Johns International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.01. Papa Johns International had a net margin of 4.51% and a negative return on equity of 19.61%. The firm had revenue of $506.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $497.28 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.53 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Papa Johns International, Inc. will post 2.19 EPS for the current year.

Papa Johns International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.84%. Papa Johns International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on PZZA. Loop Capital lowered their price target on Papa Johns International from $73.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Papa Johns International from $55.00 to $42.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Papa Johns International in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. KeyCorp downgraded Papa Johns International from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Papa Johns International from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Papa Johns International presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $55.83.

About Papa Johns International

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.