HighTower Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Papa John's International, Inc. $PZZA

HighTower Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Papa John's International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA - Free Report) by 41.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,957 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,686 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in Papa John's International were worth $327,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Papa John's International Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of PZZA stock traded down $0.85 on Thursday, reaching $47.37. The company's stock had a trading volume of 979,619 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,314,375. Papa John's International, Inc. has a 12-month low of $30.16 and a 12-month high of $60.75. The company has a market capitalization of $1.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.96, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.15. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $45.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.33.

Papa John's International (NASDAQ:PZZA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Papa John's International had a negative return on equity of 14.42% and a net margin of 3.58%.The company had revenue of $529.17 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $515.48 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.61 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Papa John's International, Inc. will post 2.19 EPS for the current year.

Papa John's International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th were given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date was 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 (DPR) is presently 81.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PZZA has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Papa John's International from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $52.00 target price (up previously from $50.00) on shares of Papa John's International in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Papa John's International from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 target price (up previously from $50.00) on shares of Papa John's International in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $42.00 target price (up previously from $38.00) on shares of Papa John's International in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Papa John's International has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $52.33.

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.