17,000 Shares in Papa John's International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) Purchased by South Dakota Investment Council

South Dakota Investment Council acquired a new position in shares of 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 Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 17,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $698,000. South Dakota Investment Council owned approximately 0.05% of Papa John's International at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Papa John's International by 4.6% in the first quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC now owns 6,842 shares of the company's stock valued at $281,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Papa John's International by 27.2% in 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 in the last quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Papa John's International by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 15,746 shares of the company's stock valued at $647,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Papa John's International by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 18,906 shares of the company's stock valued at $776,000 after purchasing an additional 658 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Papa John's International in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000.

Papa John's International Trading Down 4.6%

NASDAQ PZZA traded down $2.11 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $43.43. 476,024 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,368,335. Papa John's International, Inc. has a 12 month low of $30.16 and a 12 month high of $60.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.42 billion, a PE ratio of 18.48, a PEG ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a 50 day moving average of $46.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.17.

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

Papa John's International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were given a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.24%. Papa John's International's payout ratio is currently 78.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PZZA has been the topic of several recent research reports. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Papa John's International in a report on Monday, May 12th. Loop Capital cut their price objective on shares of Papa John's International from $60.00 to $56.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Papa John's International from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Papa John's International in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Papa John's International from $45.00 to $38.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.