Barclays PLC Buys 169,044 Shares of Aramark (NYSE:ARMK)

Barclays PLC increased its position in Aramark (NYSE:ARMK - Free Report) by 89.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 358,462 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 169,044 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned about 0.14% of Aramark worth $13,374,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ARMK. Black Creek Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Aramark by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Black Creek Investment Management Inc. now owns 617,830 shares of the company's stock worth $23,051,000 after purchasing an additional 30,027 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Aramark by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 46,652 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,741,000 after acquiring an additional 950 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Aramark by 51.7% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 16,369 shares of the company's stock valued at $611,000 after acquiring an additional 5,576 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its position in Aramark by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 115,138 shares of the company's stock worth $4,296,000 after acquiring an additional 720 shares during the period. Finally, Neuberger Berman Group LLC raised its stake in Aramark by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 2,062,121 shares of the company's stock valued at $76,938,000 after purchasing an additional 149,728 shares during the last quarter.

Aramark Price Performance

Shares of Aramark stock traded up $0.03 during trading on Thursday, reaching $33.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,289,769 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,079,818. Aramark has a one year low of $29.82 and a one year high of $42.49. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $34.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.98 and a beta of 1.37.

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

Aramark Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.105 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $0.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.27%. This is an increase from Aramark's previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. Aramark's dividend payout ratio is 33.07%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on ARMK shares. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Aramark from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $47.00 price objective on shares of Aramark in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com cut Aramark from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on shares of Aramark in a report on Monday, February 24th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aramark has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $43.08.

Aramark Company Profile

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.