Raymond James Financial Inc. Invests $5.65 Million in Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 137,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,647,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PZZA. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its holdings in shares of Papa Johns International by 300.0% in the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in Papa Johns International by 111.9% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,358 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 717 shares during the last quarter. Nwam LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Papa Johns International during the third quarter worth $210,000. MML Investors Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Papa Johns International in the 3rd quarter worth about $266,000. Finally, Optimist Retirement Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Papa Johns International in the 3rd quarter valued at about $286,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Northcoast Research raised shares of Papa Johns International to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. UBS Group lowered 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. Loop Capital dropped their target price on Papa Johns International from $73.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Papa Johns International in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Papa Johns International from $55.00 to $42.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Seven investment 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 currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $55.67.

Papa Johns International Stock Performance

Shares of PZZA opened at $43.62 on Tuesday. Papa Johns International, Inc. has a one year low of $35.28 and a one year high of $68.66. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $43.30 and its 200-day moving average is $46.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.16.

Papa Johns International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.22%. Papa Johns International’s payout ratio is 73.02%.

Papa Johns International Company Profile

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.