Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) Shares Purchased by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D boosted its holdings in Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) by 17.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 37,871 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,596 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Papa John’s International were worth $2,887,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PZZA. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Papa John’s International by 11.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,479,644 shares of the company’s stock valued at $237,381,000 after purchasing an additional 353,832 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in shares of Papa John’s International during the 3rd quarter valued at $102,786,000. Earnest Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Papa John’s International by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,411,248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,275,000 after purchasing an additional 92,937 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Papa John’s International by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 556,511 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,965,000 after purchasing an additional 25,991 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Papa John’s International by 13.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 516,345 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,225,000 after purchasing an additional 61,450 shares during the period.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Laurette T. Koellner sold 2,886 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.21, for a total transaction of $202,626.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 18,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,320,228.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 8.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Papa John’s International Trading Up 0.3 %

PZZA opened at $63.10 on Monday. Papa John’s International, Inc. has a 1 year low of $60.24 and a 1 year high of $86.38. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $67.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.47. The stock has a market cap of $2.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.65, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.14.

Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.18. Papa John’s International had a negative return on equity of 19.46% and a net margin of 3.84%. The company had revenue of $571.32 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $578.15 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.71 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Papa John’s International, Inc. will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on PZZA shares. BTIG Research cut Papa John’s International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $87.00 target price on shares of Papa John’s International in a report on Friday, March 1st. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Papa John’s International from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Stephens started coverage on Papa John’s International in a report on Friday, April 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $75.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Benchmark decreased their target price on Papa John’s International from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Six research 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, Papa John’s International has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.60.

Papa John’s 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.