Bridgewater Associates LP Lowers Stock Holdings in Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA)

Bridgewater Associates LP reduced its position in Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) by 69.4% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 20,954 shares of the company’s stock after selling 47,442 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in Papa Johns International were worth $1,129,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of Papa Johns International by 19.8% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 22,130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,192,000 after buying an additional 3,659 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Papa Johns International by 89.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $331,000 after buying an additional 2,900 shares during the period. Nwam LLC purchased a new stake in Papa Johns International during the 3rd quarter worth $210,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Papa Johns International by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 378,676 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,399,000 after purchasing an additional 28,883 shares during the period. Finally, Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in Papa Johns International during the 3rd quarter worth $1,493,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Papa Johns International from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $62.00 price objective on shares of Papa Johns International in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of 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 boosted their price objective on shares of Papa Johns International from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Papa Johns International in a report on Friday, November 8th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Papa Johns International presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $60.82.

Papa Johns International Stock Performance

Shares of Papa Johns International stock opened at $49.83 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $1.63 billion, a PE ratio of 17.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.19. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $51.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $48.20. Papa Johns International, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.90 and a 1 year high of $78.67.

Papa Johns International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $506.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $497.28 million. Papa Johns International had a net margin of 4.51% and a negative return on equity of 19.61%. Papa Johns International’s quarterly revenue was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.53 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Papa Johns International, Inc. will post 2.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Papa Johns International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.69%. Papa Johns International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.