MML Investors Services LLC Invests $266,000 in Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA)

MML Investors Services LLC purchased a new stake in Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 4,942 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $266,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Papa Johns International by 85.9% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 190,037 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,237,000 after buying an additional 87,801 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC grew its position in Papa Johns International by 19.3% during the 3rd quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 1,091,733 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,812,000 after acquiring an additional 176,470 shares during the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its holdings in Papa Johns International by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 985,105 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,280,000 after purchasing an additional 40,996 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in Papa Johns International by 30.2% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,214,184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,042,000 after purchasing an additional 281,399 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Papa Johns International by 8.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 378,676 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,399,000 after purchasing an additional 28,883 shares in the last quarter.

Papa Johns International Stock Performance

Papa Johns International stock opened at $40.12 on Thursday. Papa Johns International, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.25 and a fifty-two week high of $78.67. The stock has a market cap of $1.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.16. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $49.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.79.

Papa Johns International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $506.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $497.28 million. Papa Johns International had a negative return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 4.51%. Papa Johns International’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.53 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Papa Johns International, Inc. will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Papa Johns International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.59%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. Papa Johns International’s dividend payout ratio is 64.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on PZZA. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $62.00 target price on shares of Papa Johns International in a research report on Friday, December 13th. KeyCorp lowered shares of Papa Johns International from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Papa Johns International from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Papa Johns International in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Papa Johns International from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $60.82.

Papa Johns 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.