133,778 Shares in Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) Acquired by Verition Fund Management LLC

Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 133,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,207,000. Verition Fund Management LLC owned 0.41% of Papa Johns International at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PZZA. River Road Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Papa Johns International by 88.1% in the 3rd quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 2,285,665 shares of the company's stock valued at $123,129,000 after purchasing an additional 1,070,485 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Papa Johns International by 25.9% during the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,170,945 shares of the company's stock valued at $101,991,000 after acquiring an additional 446,477 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Papa Johns International in the 2nd quarter valued at about $93,586,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in Papa Johns International by 30.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,214,184 shares of the company's stock worth $57,042,000 after purchasing an additional 281,399 shares during the period. Finally, Stephens Investment Management Group LLC raised its holdings in Papa Johns International by 19.3% in the 3rd quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 1,091,733 shares of the company's stock worth $58,812,000 after purchasing an additional 176,470 shares during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $62.00 price target on shares of Papa Johns International in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Papa Johns International from $58.00 to $45.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 9th. UBS Group raised their target price on Papa Johns International from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Papa Johns International from $75.00 to $65.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered Papa Johns International from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Papa Johns International has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $60.82.

Papa Johns International Stock Down 0.6 %

Papa Johns International stock traded down $0.29 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $49.54. 1,424,829 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,004,421. The company has a fifty day moving average of $51.54 and a 200-day moving average of $48.17. The company has a market cap of $1.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.19. Papa Johns International, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.90 and a twelve month high of $78.67.

Papa Johns International (NASDAQ:PZZA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.01. Papa Johns International had a negative return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 4.51%. The business had revenue of $506.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $497.28 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.53 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Papa Johns International, Inc. will post 2.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Papa Johns International Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. Papa Johns International's dividend payout ratio is presently 64.11%.

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.