Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) Shares Sold by Prudential Financial Inc.

Prudential Financial Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 33,176 shares of the company’s stock after selling 662 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. owned about 0.10% of Papa Johns International worth $1,363,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its holdings in Papa Johns International by 300.0% in the fourth 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 raised its position in shares of Papa Johns International by 111.9% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,358 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 717 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new position in shares of Papa Johns International during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $190,000. MML Investors Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Papa Johns International during the third quarter worth approximately $266,000. Finally, Optimist Retirement Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Papa Johns International in the third quarter worth $286,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on PZZA shares. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Papa Johns International from $55.00 to $42.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Papa Johns International from $56.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Papa Johns International in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Papa Johns International in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Papa Johns International from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $55.25.

Papa Johns International Stock Performance

Papa Johns International stock opened at $36.33 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.06. Papa Johns International, Inc. has a one year low of $35.28 and a one year high of $64.67.

Papa Johns International Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.06%. Papa Johns International’s payout ratio is currently 73.02%.

Papa Johns International Company 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.