Legato Capital Management LLC Increases Stake in Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA)

Legato Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) by 25.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,827 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,456 shares during the period. Legato Capital Management LLC owned about 0.08% of Papa Johns International worth $1,102,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. River Road Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Papa Johns International by 88.1% during the third quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 2,285,665 shares of the company’s stock worth $123,129,000 after buying an additional 1,070,485 shares in the last quarter. Irth Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Papa Johns International in the fourth quarter worth about $66,883,000. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Papa Johns International by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 1,156,705 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,506,000 after acquiring an additional 64,972 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Papa Johns International by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 378,676 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,399,000 after acquiring an additional 28,883 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in shares of Papa Johns International in the 3rd quarter valued at about $15,845,000.

Papa Johns International Trading Up 3.7 %

PZZA stock opened at $43.31 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $1.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.09, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.19. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $40.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $46.35. Papa Johns International, Inc. has a 12 month low of $35.28 and a 12 month high of $76.91.

Papa Johns International Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.25%. Papa Johns International’s payout ratio is 64.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PZZA. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Papa Johns International in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Loop Capital decreased their target price on Papa Johns International from $73.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Papa Johns International from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. KeyCorp cut shares of Papa Johns International from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, 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 research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $55.83.

Papa Johns 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.