T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Sells 739,947 Shares of Papa John's International, Inc. $PZZA

Key Points

• T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in Papa John's International by 25.1%, now holding over 2.2 million shares valued at approximately $90.9 million.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 4.2%.
• Analysts have generally rated Papa John's stock as a "Hold," with a consensus price target of $52.33, while the stock recently opened at $44.32.

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. trimmed its position in Papa John's International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA - Free Report) by 25.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,213,279 shares of the company's stock after selling 739,947 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 6.77% of Papa John's International worth $90,922,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its stake in Papa John's International by 4,646.7% in the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 712 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 697 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 947 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 344 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in Papa John's International during the fourth quarter valued at $87,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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.

Papa John's International Trading Down 0.2%

PZZA traded down $0.11 on Wednesday, reaching $48.55. The stock had a trading volume of 523,974 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,313,183. Papa John's International, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $30.16 and a fifty-two week high of $60.75. The company has a market capitalization of $1.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.13. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $46.01 and a 200-day moving average of $43.18.

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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $515.48 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.61 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Papa John's International, Inc. will post 2.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Papa John's International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. Papa John's International's dividend payout ratio is presently 81.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PZZA. Stephens reiterated 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 report on Friday, August 8th. Loop Capital dropped their price target on Papa John's International from $60.00 to $56.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Papa John's International from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Papa John's International from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 price objective (up from $50.00) on shares of Papa John's International in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently 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.