Bank of Nova Scotia Purchases 83,880 Shares of Aramark (NYSE:ARMK)

Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its position in shares of Aramark (NYSE:ARMK - Free Report) by 769.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 94,779 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 83,880 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in Aramark were worth $3,536,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ARMK. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in Aramark during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $716,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Aramark by 7.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 6,570,938 shares of the company's stock worth $254,427,000 after purchasing an additional 441,711 shares during the last quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP increased its holdings in Aramark by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 259,364 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,677,000 after purchasing an additional 35,616 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Aramark by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,363,113 shares of the company's stock worth $169,028,000 after purchasing an additional 45,384 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in Aramark by 45.7% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 988 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 310 shares during the period.

Aramark Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE:ARMK traded up $0.20 on Friday, hitting $32.18. The stock had a trading volume of 958,272 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,089,516. The company has a market cap of $8.53 billion, a PE ratio of 25.33 and a beta of 1.37. Aramark has a 52 week low of $29.82 and a 52 week high of $42.49. The business's fifty day moving average is $34.90 and its 200 day moving average is $37.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61.

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, 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 the consensus estimate of $4.61 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.41 EPS. Aramark's revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.105 dividend. This is a boost from Aramark's previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.31%. Aramark's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.07%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.