MML Investors Services LLC Acquires Shares of 4,942 Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA)

MML Investors Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 4,942 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $266,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Papa Johns International by 85.9% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 190,037 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,237,000 after buying an additional 87,801 shares during the period. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC lifted its position in Papa Johns International by 19.3% during the 3rd quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 1,091,733 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,812,000 after acquiring an additional 176,470 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Papa Johns International by 4.3% during the second quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 985,105 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,280,000 after purchasing an additional 40,996 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Papa Johns International by 30.2% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,214,184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,042,000 after purchasing an additional 281,399 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Papa Johns International by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 378,676 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,399,000 after purchasing an additional 28,883 shares in the last quarter.

Papa Johns International Stock Performance

NASDAQ PZZA opened at $40.12 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $49.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $47.79. Papa Johns International, Inc. has a one year low of $38.25 and a one year high of $78.67. The company has a market capitalization of $1.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.16.

Papa Johns International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $506.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $497.28 million. Papa Johns International had a negative return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 4.51%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.53 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Papa Johns International, Inc. will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Papa Johns International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.59%. Papa Johns International’s payout ratio is 64.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on PZZA. Bank of America raised their price target on Papa Johns International from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Papa Johns International from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Papa Johns International in a report on Friday, December 13th. KeyCorp lowered shares of Papa Johns International from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $62.00 target price on shares of Papa Johns International in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.82.

Papa Johns International Company 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.