Raymond James Financial Inc. Makes New $5.65 Million Investment in Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 137,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,647,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.42% of Papa Johns International at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its holdings in shares of Papa Johns International by 300.0% in the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in Papa Johns International by 111.9% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,358 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 717 shares during the period. Nwam LLC purchased a new stake in Papa Johns International during the third quarter valued at about $210,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Papa Johns International by 15.8% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,425 shares of the company’s stock worth $223,000 after acquiring an additional 740 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Papa Johns International in the 3rd quarter worth about $266,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PZZA has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Papa Johns International in a report on Friday, February 28th. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Papa Johns International to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on shares of Papa Johns International from $73.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Papa Johns International from $56.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Papa Johns International from $55.00 to $42.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $55.67.

Papa Johns International Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PZZA opened at $43.62 on Tuesday. Papa Johns International, Inc. has a 1 year low of $35.28 and a 1 year high of $68.66. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $43.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.59. The firm has a market cap of $1.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.20, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.16.

Papa Johns International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Papa Johns International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.02%.

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.