Dean Investment Associates LLC Purchases 8,797 Shares of Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA)

Dean Investment Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) by 16.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 63,305 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,797 shares during the quarter. Dean Investment Associates LLC owned approximately 0.19% of Papa Johns International worth $2,600,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in PZZA. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its stake in Papa Johns International by 300.0% during the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. Atlas Brown Inc. grew its holdings in Papa Johns International by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. now owns 10,453 shares of the company’s stock valued at $429,000 after buying an additional 546 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Papa Johns International by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,639 shares of the company’s stock valued at $273,000 after buying an additional 551 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in shares of 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. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Papa Johns International by 15.8% during 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 last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on PZZA shares. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Papa Johns International from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Papa Johns International from $55.00 to $42.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Northcoast Research upgraded Papa Johns International to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Papa Johns International in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Papa Johns International from $56.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $55.08.

Papa Johns International Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of PZZA opened at $31.16 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $42.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.68. The company has a market cap of $1.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.25. Papa Johns International, Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.20 and a twelve month high of $64.67.

Papa Johns International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.91%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Papa Johns International’s payout ratio is currently 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.