Papa John's International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) Shares Sold by KBC Group NV

KBC Group NV lowered its stake in shares of Papa John's International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA - Free Report) by 78.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,407 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,232 shares during the period. KBC Group NV's holdings in Papa John's International were worth $58,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its stake in Papa John's International by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,589,991 shares of the company's stock worth $106,371,000 after acquiring an additional 27,912 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in Papa John's International by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,500,739 shares of the company's stock worth $61,635,000 after acquiring an additional 102,128 shares in the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. lifted its stake in Papa John's International by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 1,358,945 shares of the company's stock worth $55,812,000 after acquiring an additional 173,316 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in Papa John's International by 117.3% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,118,403 shares of the company's stock worth $45,933,000 after purchasing an additional 603,650 shares during the period. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its holdings in Papa John's International by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 1,117,238 shares of the company's stock worth $45,885,000 after purchasing an additional 85,236 shares during the period.

Papa John's International Stock Down 0.8%

NASDAQ:PZZA traded down $0.38 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $47.93. 1,102,909 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,257,503. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $44.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.40, a P/E/G ratio of 4.32 and a beta of 1.19. Papa John's International, Inc. has a 1 year low of $30.16 and a 1 year high of $60.75.

Papa John's International (NASDAQ:PZZA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $518.31 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $512.48 million. Papa John's International had a negative return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 3.77%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.67 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Papa John's International, Inc. will post 2.19 EPS for the current year.

Papa John's International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.84%. Papa John's International's payout ratio is 78.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on PZZA. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Papa John's International in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Papa John's International from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Loop Capital cut their price target on Papa John's International from $60.00 to $56.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Papa John's International in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on Papa John's International from $45.00 to $38.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 5th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $51.25.

Papa John's 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.