Franklin Resources Inc. Grows Position in Aramark (NYSE:ARMK)

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Aramark (NYSE:ARMK - Free Report) by 29.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,511,152 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,940,214 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 3.21% of Aramark worth $317,551,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in Aramark by 21.2% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 111,918 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,335,000 after purchasing an additional 19,606 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Aramark by 69.4% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 27,202 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,054,000 after buying an additional 11,144 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in shares of Aramark by 169.4% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 121,202 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,659,000 after acquiring an additional 76,214 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its holdings in Aramark by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 45,702 shares of the company's stock worth $1,770,000 after acquiring an additional 2,329 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors raised its stake in Aramark by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 7,955 shares of the company's stock worth $308,000 after acquiring an additional 662 shares during the period.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $47.00 price objective on shares of Aramark in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Aramark in a report on Monday, February 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Aramark from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Aramark from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Aramark from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $43.42.

Aramark Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ARMK traded down $2.70 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $31.31. 3,605,980 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,091,477. The company's 50 day moving average is $36.30 and its 200 day moving average is $37.80. Aramark has a one year low of $29.82 and a one year high of $42.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.30 billion, a PE ratio of 24.65 and a beta of 1.60.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 earned $0.41 earnings per share. Aramark's quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Aramark will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Aramark Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.105 dividend. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. 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 (DPR) is presently 33.07%.

Aramark 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.