Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) Shares Purchased by Ameriprise Financial Inc.

Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA - Free Report) by 18.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 149,697 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 23,260 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned 0.46% of Papa Johns International worth $6,148,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Earnest Partners LLC raised its holdings in Papa Johns International by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,589,991 shares of the company's stock valued at $106,371,000 after buying an additional 27,912 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in Papa Johns International by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,500,739 shares of the company's stock valued at $61,635,000 after acquiring an additional 102,128 shares during the period. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in Papa Johns International by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 1,156,705 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,506,000 after acquiring an additional 64,972 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in Papa Johns International by 117.3% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,118,403 shares of the company's stock valued at $45,933,000 after acquiring an additional 603,650 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Papa Johns International by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 591,937 shares of the company's stock valued at $24,310,000 after acquiring an additional 15,513 shares during the period.

Papa Johns International Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PZZA traded up $0.23 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $43.82. 1,000,576 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,221,876. The company has a fifty day moving average of $36.98 and a 200 day moving average of $41.57. Papa Johns International, Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.16 and a twelve month high of $60.75. The company has a market capitalization of $1.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.09.

Papa Johns International (NASDAQ:PZZA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.03. Papa Johns International had a negative return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 4.51%. The company had revenue of $518.31 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $512.48 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.67 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Papa Johns International, Inc. will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Papa Johns International Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. Papa Johns International's dividend payout ratio is presently 78.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PZZA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on Papa Johns International from $60.00 to $56.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Papa Johns International in a report on Monday, May 12th. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Papa Johns International in a report on Thursday, May 8th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Papa Johns International from $45.00 to $38.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Papa Johns International from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $51.25.

About Papa Johns 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.