Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 136,314 Shares of Papa John's International, Inc. $PZZA

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. has reduced its stake in Papa John's International by 3.5%, now holding 3,711,805 shares worth approximately $152.5 million.
• Papa John's International reported a 4.2% increase in revenue year-over-year, with earnings per share of $0.41, surpassing estimates of $0.34 by $0.07.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.46, with an annualized yield of 4.1% and a payout ratio of 81.42%.

Vanguard Group Inc. lessened its stake in Papa John's International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA - Free Report) by 3.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,711,805 shares of the company's stock after selling 136,314 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 11.35% of Papa John's International worth $152,481,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PZZA. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Papa John's International by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC now owns 6,842 shares of the company's stock worth $281,000 after acquiring an additional 299 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 worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 344 shares during the last quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Papa John's International by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 15,746 shares of the company's stock worth $647,000 after acquiring an additional 388 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Papa John's International by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 18,906 shares of the company's stock worth $776,000 after acquiring an additional 658 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Guidance Capital Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Papa John's International by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. Guidance Capital Inc. now owns 12,974 shares of the company's stock worth $533,000 after acquiring an additional 694 shares during the last quarter.

Papa John's International Stock Up 0.9%

NASDAQ PZZA traded up $0.44 on Tuesday, reaching $48.66. The company had a trading volume of 1,415,905 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,011,172. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.59 billion, a PE ratio of 21.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.13. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $46.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.18. Papa John's International, Inc. has a 12 month low of $30.16 and a 12 month high of $60.75.

Papa John's International (NASDAQ:PZZA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $529.17 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $515.48 million. Papa John's International had a net margin of 3.58% and a negative return on equity of 14.42%. Papa John's International's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.61 EPS. On average, 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. Papa John's International's payout ratio is currently 81.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on PZZA shares. Loop Capital dropped their price target on shares of Papa John's International from $60.00 to $56.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 9th. 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 note on Friday, August 8th. 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 note on Monday, August 4th. 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 note on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Papa John's International from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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.