Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) Stock Position Lifted by Moody National Bank Trust Division

Moody National Bank Trust Division boosted its stake in shares of Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) by 22.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,086 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,483 shares during the period. Moody National Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Papa John’s International were worth $539,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CWM LLC grew its position in Papa John’s International by 23.5% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 819 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Papa John’s International by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,501 shares of the company’s stock worth $191,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in Papa John’s International by 396.5% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 422 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 337 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in Papa John’s International by 6.7% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 5,482 shares of the company’s stock worth $374,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in Papa John’s International by 8.6% in the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 5,058 shares of the company’s stock worth $345,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Activity

In other Papa John’s International news, CEO Ravi Thanawala acquired 1,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was bought at an average price of $52.41 per share, for a total transaction of $99,579.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 38,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,039,797.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on PZZA shares. Wedbush decreased their target price on shares of Papa John’s International from $76.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of Papa John’s International in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Papa John’s International from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 10th. 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 report on Friday, May 10th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Papa John’s International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $76.30.

Papa John’s International Trading Down 0.6 %

NASDAQ:PZZA traded down $0.31 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $48.48. 802,207 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 995,568. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.11. Papa John’s International, Inc. has a twelve month low of $46.20 and a twelve month high of $86.38. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $54.16 and a 200 day moving average of $65.65.

Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $513.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $544.46 million. Papa John’s International had a net margin of 3.50% and a negative return on equity of 19.46%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.68 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Papa John’s International, Inc. will post 2.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Papa John’s International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th were paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.80%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 17th. Papa John’s International’s dividend payout ratio is 81.78%.

Papa John’s International Profile

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.