7,522 Shares in Papa John's International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) Purchased by Virtu Financial LLC

Key Points

• Virtu Financial LLC bought 7,522 shares of Papa John's International, valued at approximately $309,000, indicating strong institutional interest in the company.
• Despite a recent earnings beat, with $0.41 EPS reported against a $0.34 estimate, analysts have mixed ratings—six firms rating it as a hold and five as a buy, with an average price target of $52.33.
• Papa John's International announced a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share, offering a 3.9% yield, with a high dividend payout ratio of 81.42%.

Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in Papa John's International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 7,522 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $309,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in Papa John's International by 214.7% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,388 shares of the company's stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 947 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its stake in Papa John's International by 27.2% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,610 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in Papa John's International during the 4th quarter valued at about $87,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Papa John's International by 506.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,122 shares of the company's stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 1,772 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in Papa John's International by 2,758.7% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,144 shares of the company's stock valued at $88,000 after acquiring an additional 2,069 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on PZZA. Loop Capital lowered their target price on Papa John's International from $60.00 to $56.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Papa John's International from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $60.00 price target (up previously from $50.00) on shares of Papa John's International in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Papa John's International from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $52.00 price target (up previously from $50.00) on shares of Papa John's International in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $52.33.

Papa John's International Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PZZA opened at $47.57 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.05, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.13. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $46.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.81. Papa John's International, Inc. has a 52 week low of $30.16 and a 52 week high of $60.75.

Papa John's International (NASDAQ:PZZA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $529.17 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $515.48 million. Papa John's International had a negative return on equity of 14.42% and a net margin of 3.58%. The company's revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.61 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Papa John's International, Inc. will post 2.19 EPS for the current year.

Papa John's International Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. Papa John's International's dividend payout ratio is presently 81.42%.

About Papa John's International

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding PZZA? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Papa John's International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.