Congress Asset Management Co. MA Purchases 12,037 Shares of Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA)

Congress Asset Management Co. MA grew its position in shares of Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) by 30.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 51,750 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,037 shares during the quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA owned about 0.16% of Papa John’s International worth $3,945,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nebula Research & Development LLC bought a new position in Papa John’s International during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,047,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in Papa John’s International by 35.3% during the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 889,918 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,838,000 after purchasing an additional 232,177 shares during the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its holdings in Papa John’s International by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 922,911 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,354,000 after purchasing an additional 55,227 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC raised its holdings in Papa John’s International by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 856,758 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,311,000 after purchasing an additional 20,939 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Papa John’s International by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 5,714 shares of the company’s stock worth $436,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PZZA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of Papa John’s International from $77.00 to $58.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Benchmark lowered their price objective on shares of Papa John’s International from $87.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on shares of Papa John’s International from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 10th. KeyCorp lowered 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 note on Friday, May 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Papa John’s International from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $76.30.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Papa John’s International news, CEO Ravi Thanawala bought 1,900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $52.41 per share, for a total transaction of $99,579.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 38,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,039,797.20. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Papa John’s International Price Performance

PZZA opened at $48.79 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.11. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $54.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $65.78. Papa John’s International, Inc. has a 1 year low of $46.20 and a 1 year high of $86.38.

Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 9th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $513.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 revenue for the quarter was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.68 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Papa John’s International, Inc. will post 2.41 EPS for the current year.

Papa John’s International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th were issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 17th. Papa John’s International’s dividend payout ratio is 81.78%.

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.