Quadrature Capital Ltd Takes $1.14 Million Position in Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA)

Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 17,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,142,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd owned about 0.05% of Papa John’s International as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Papa John’s International by 23.5% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 819 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Texas Yale Capital Corp. boosted its holdings in Papa John’s International by 5.6% in the first quarter. Texas Yale Capital Corp. now owns 4,562 shares of the company’s stock worth $304,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Papa John’s International by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,976 shares of the company’s stock worth $265,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Papa John’s International by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,501 shares of the company’s stock worth $191,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the period. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Papa John’s International by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 5,366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $357,000 after buying an additional 333 shares in the last quarter.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Ravi Thanawala acquired 1,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $52.41 per share, with a total value of $99,579.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 38,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,039,797.20. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 8.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Benchmark reduced their price objective on shares of Papa John’s International from $87.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 10th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Papa John’s International from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Papa John’s International from $77.00 to $58.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of Papa John’s International in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Papa John’s International from $78.00 to $69.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Papa John’s International presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.10.

Papa John’s International Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PZZA traded down $0.03 during trading on Friday, reaching $40.93. The stock had a trading volume of 847,196 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,271,435. The company has a market capitalization of $1.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.19, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.16. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $45.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.12. Papa John’s International, Inc. has a one year low of $39.90 and a one year high of $86.38.

Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 9th. The company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $513.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $544.46 million. Papa John’s International had a net margin of 3.50% and a negative return on equity of 19.46%. Papa John’s International’s revenue was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.68 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Papa John’s International, Inc. will post 2.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Papa John’s International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th were given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.50%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 17th. Papa John’s International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 81.78%.

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.