Silphium Asset Management Ltd Purchases New Position in Aramark (NYSE:ARMK)

Silphium Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Aramark (NYSE:ARMK - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 50,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,866,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in Aramark by 100.3% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 681 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 341 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Aramark in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in shares of Aramark by 45.7% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 988 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 310 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Aramark by 75.2% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,354 shares of the company's stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 581 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Aramark by 167.2% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,424 shares of the company's stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 891 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Aramark from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Aramark from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Aramark from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Aramark from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on shares of Aramark in a report on Monday, February 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $48.00 price objective on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $43.42.

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Aramark Stock Performance

Shares of ARMK traded down $0.36 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $35.49. 1,117,346 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,046,788. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $37.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.94 and a beta of 1.64. Aramark has a 12-month low of $29.82 and a 12-month high of $42.49.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $4.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.61 billion. Aramark had a net margin of 1.94% and a return on equity of 14.72%. Aramark's revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.41 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Aramark will post 1.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aramark Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.105 dividend. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.18%. This is a positive change from Aramark's previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Aramark's dividend payout ratio is presently 33.07%.

About Aramark

Aramark provides food and facilities services to education, healthcare, business and industry, sports, leisure, and corrections clients in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments, Food and Support Services United States, and Food and Support Services International. The company offers food-related managed services, including dining, catering, food service management, and convenience-oriented retail services; non-clinical food and food-related support services, such as patient food and nutrition, retail food, environmental services, and procurement services; and plant operations and maintenance, custodial/housekeeping, energy management, grounds keeping, and capital project management services.