Everence Capital Management Inc. Increases Stake in Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA)

Everence Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) by 42.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,490 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,640 shares during the quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Papa John’s International were worth $419,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PZZA. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in Papa John’s International during the third quarter valued at approximately $102,786,000. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in Papa John’s International by 315.0% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,348,724 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,014,000 after purchasing an additional 1,023,713 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in Papa John’s International by 397.5% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,127,248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $84,465,000 after purchasing an additional 900,649 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Papa John’s International in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,219,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in Papa John’s International by 4,397.4% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 364,156 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,974,000 after purchasing an additional 356,059 shares during the period.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Papa John’s International news, Director Laurette T. Koellner sold 2,886 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.21, for a total transaction of $202,626.06. Following the transaction, the director now owns 18,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,320,228.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 8.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Papa John’s International Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PZZA opened at $61.35 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $68.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.02 billion, a PE ratio of 24.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.14. Papa John’s International, Inc. has a 1 year low of $60.24 and a 1 year high of $86.38.

Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $571.32 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $578.15 million. Papa John’s International had a negative return on equity of 19.46% and a net margin of 3.84%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.71 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Papa John’s International, Inc. will post 2.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Papa John’s International Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 12th were paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. Papa John’s International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on PZZA shares. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $87.00 price objective on shares of Papa John’s International in a report on Friday, March 1st. Stephens started coverage on Papa John’s International in a report on Friday, April 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $75.00 price objective on the stock. BTIG Research lowered Papa John’s International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Papa John’s International in a report on Friday, January 5th. Finally, Benchmark dropped their price objective on Papa John’s International from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Papa John’s International has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $82.10.

About Papa John’s International

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.