Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) Shares Purchased by Blue Trust Inc.

Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) by 29.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,685 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,076 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Papa Johns International were worth $252,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Papa Johns International by 13.0% during the third quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 7,114 shares of the company’s stock worth $383,000 after purchasing an additional 819 shares in the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Papa Johns International during the third quarter worth $156,000. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Papa Johns International during the third quarter worth $232,000. Creative Planning boosted its position in Papa Johns International by 59.8% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 22,548 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,215,000 after purchasing an additional 8,438 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its position in Papa Johns International by 27.5% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,690 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 365 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Bank of America boosted their target price on Papa Johns International from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. KeyCorp decreased their target price on Papa Johns International from $64.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Papa Johns International from $58.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $51.00 price objective on shares of Papa Johns International in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Papa Johns International from $58.00 to $45.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.00.

Papa Johns International Trading Down 1.6 %

Papa Johns International stock opened at $50.73 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.39, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $49.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.90. Papa Johns International, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.90 and a 52 week high of $78.67.

Papa Johns International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $507.89 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $520.13 million. Papa Johns International had a negative return on equity of 19.85% and a net margin of 3.25%. The firm’s revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.59 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Papa Johns International, Inc. will post 2.27 EPS for the current year.

Papa Johns International Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 19th were paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 19th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.63%. Papa Johns International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 88.46%.

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.