Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Purchases 85,236 Shares of Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA)

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its position in Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA - Free Report) by 8.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,117,238 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 85,236 shares during the quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. owned approximately 3.42% of Papa Johns International worth $45,885,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PZZA. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Papa Johns International in the fourth quarter valued at about $559,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Papa Johns International in the fourth quarter valued at $5,647,000. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in Papa Johns International by 7.3% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Papa Johns International by 31.8% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 387,699 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,923,000 after buying an additional 93,561 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Papa Johns International by 18.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 389,837 shares of the company's stock worth $16,011,000 after purchasing an additional 59,404 shares during the period.

Papa Johns International Price Performance

PZZA opened at $40.34 on Monday. Papa Johns International, Inc. has a 1 year low of $30.16 and a 1 year high of $60.75. The company has a market capitalization of $1.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.09. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $37.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.21.

Papa Johns International (NASDAQ:PZZA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $518.31 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $512.48 million. Papa Johns International had a net margin of 4.51% and a negative return on equity of 19.61%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.67 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Papa Johns International, Inc. will post 2.19 EPS for the current year.

Papa Johns International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.56%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. Papa Johns International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PZZA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Papa Johns International in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Papa Johns International in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Papa Johns International from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Papa Johns International in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on Papa Johns International from $45.00 to $38.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $51.25.

About Papa Johns 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.

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