Bank of America Corp DE Lowers Stock Holdings in Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA)

Bank of America Corp DE lowered its position in Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA - Free Report) by 16.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,767,776 shares of the company's stock after selling 347,998 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 5.42% of Papa Johns International worth $72,603,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PZZA. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its holdings in Papa Johns International by 300.0% in the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 600 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC purchased a new position in Papa Johns International during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in Papa Johns International by 111.9% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,358 shares of the company's stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 717 shares in the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Papa Johns International during the 4th quarter valued at about $58,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Papa Johns International during the 4th quarter valued at about $164,000.

Papa Johns International Trading Up 0.7%

PZZA stock traded up $0.29 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $40.34. 1,427,580 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,243,074. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.32 billion, a PE ratio of 14.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.09. Papa Johns International, Inc. has a 1-year low of $30.16 and a 1-year high of $60.75.

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

Papa Johns International Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on PZZA shares. Northcoast Research raised Papa Johns International to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Papa Johns International from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group cut their target price 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. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Papa Johns International in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Papa Johns International in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $51.25.

Papa Johns International 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.