New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 81,815 Shares of Papa John's International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA)

New York State Common Retirement Fund reduced its stake in Papa John's International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA - Free Report) by 47.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 90,982 shares of the company's stock after selling 81,815 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.28% of Papa John's International worth $6,936,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PZZA. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Papa John's International by 11.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,479,644 shares of the company's stock worth $237,381,000 after acquiring an additional 353,832 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in shares of Papa John's International in the 3rd quarter valued at about $102,786,000. Earnest Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Papa John's International by 7.0% in the third quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,411,248 shares of the company's stock valued at $96,275,000 after acquiring an additional 92,937 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Papa John's International by 4.9% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 556,511 shares of the company's stock worth $37,965,000 after acquiring an additional 25,991 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Papa John's International by 13.5% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 516,345 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,225,000 after purchasing an additional 61,450 shares during the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PZZA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Papa John's International from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 9th. Benchmark decreased their price objective on shares of Papa John's International from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Papa John's International from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. BTIG Research downgraded shares of Papa John's International from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $87.00 price target on shares of Papa John's International in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $81.60.

Papa John's International Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PZZA traded down $0.76 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $58.98. 771,410 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 717,401. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $66.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $69.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.16. Papa John's International, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $58.95 and a fifty-two week high of $86.38.

Papa John's International (NASDAQ:PZZA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.18. Papa John's International had a negative return on equity of 19.46% and a net margin of 3.84%. The company had revenue of $571.32 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $578.15 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.71 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Papa John's International, Inc. will post 2.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Papa John's International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.12%. Papa John's International's dividend payout ratio is presently 74.80%.

Insider Activity at Papa John's International

In related news, Director Laurette T. Koellner sold 2,886 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.21, for a total value of $202,626.06. Following the transaction, the director now owns 18,804 shares in the company, valued at $1,320,228.84. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 8.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Papa John's International Profile

Papa John's International, Inc operates and franchises pizza delivery and carryout restaurants under the Papa John's trademark in the United States and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Domestic Company-Owned Restaurants, North America Commissaries, North America Franchising, and International Operations.