Bank of America Corp DE Has $72.60 Million Stock Position in Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA)

Bank of America Corp DE decreased its holdings in shares of Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA - Free Report) by 16.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor 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 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of Papa Johns International by 117.3% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,118,403 shares of the company's stock worth $45,933,000 after purchasing an additional 603,650 shares during the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC grew its position in shares of Papa Johns International by 131.4% during the 4th quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 576,329 shares of the company's stock valued at $23,670,000 after buying an additional 327,300 shares during the last quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC boosted its stake in Papa Johns International by 124.8% during the 4th quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC now owns 540,694 shares of the company's stock valued at $22,206,000 after purchasing an additional 300,138 shares during the period. Long Focus Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Papa Johns International during the 4th quarter valued at about $7,393,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Papa Johns International during the 4th quarter valued at about $5,647,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Papa Johns International from $55.00 to $42.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Papa Johns International in a research note on Monday. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Papa Johns International from $45.00 to $38.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Papa Johns International in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, 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. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Papa Johns International presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $51.25.

Papa Johns International Trading Down 0.5%

PZZA stock traded down $0.22 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $40.05. The company had a trading volume of 909,155 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,240,400. 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 $1.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.95, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a 50 day moving average of $37.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.43.

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

Papa Johns International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.59%. Papa Johns International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 78.30%.

Papa Johns 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.