Natixis Advisors LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA)

Natixis Advisors LLC decreased its stake in Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) by 12.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 166,598 shares of the company’s stock after selling 23,439 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.51% of Papa Johns International worth $6,842,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of PZZA. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its position in Papa Johns International by 300.0% in the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 600 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in Papa Johns International by 111.9% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,358 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 717 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new stake in Papa Johns International in the fourth quarter worth about $190,000. Nwam LLC purchased a new stake in Papa Johns International in the third quarter worth about $210,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Papa Johns International by 15.8% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,425 shares of the company’s stock worth $223,000 after acquiring an additional 740 shares during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Papa Johns International in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Northcoast Research raised Papa Johns International to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on Papa Johns International from $73.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Papa Johns International from $56.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Papa Johns International in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $55.67.

Papa Johns International Price Performance

NASDAQ:PZZA opened at $45.45 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.84, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.16. Papa Johns International, Inc. has a 1 year low of $35.28 and a 1 year high of $71.71. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.66.

Papa Johns International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.05%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Papa Johns International’s payout ratio is 73.02%.

About Papa Johns International

Papa John’s International, Inc engages in the operation and franchise of pizza delivery and carryout restaurants. It operates through the following segments: Domestic Company-owned Restaurants, North America Franchising, North America Commissaries, International Operations, and All Others. The Domestic Company-Owned Restaurants segment consists of retail sales of pizza and side items, breadsticks, cheese sticks, chicken poppers and wings, dessert items, and canned and bottled beverages.