Raymond James & Associates Acquires 80,300 Shares of Aramark (NYSE:ARMK)

Raymond James & Associates increased its position in shares of Aramark (NYSE:ARMK - Free Report) by 471.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 97,328 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 80,300 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates' holdings in Aramark were worth $3,770,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System raised its position in shares of Aramark by 9.7% during the first quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 20,405 shares of the company's stock worth $634,000 after purchasing an additional 1,808 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Aramark by 54.9% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 29,636 shares of the company's stock worth $964,000 after buying an additional 10,505 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in Aramark by 36.3% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 16,020 shares of the company's stock valued at $521,000 after buying an additional 4,265 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Aramark by 2.3% in the first quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 19,540 shares of the company's stock valued at $635,000 after buying an additional 432 shares during the period. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in shares of Aramark during the first quarter worth $623,000.

Aramark Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ARMK traded down $0.07 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $38.14. 1,074,365 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,209,687. Aramark has a 12 month low of $25.92 and a 12 month high of $39.99. The company's 50 day moving average price is $37.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $34.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.05 billion, a PE ratio of 29.17 and a beta of 1.62.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.01. Aramark had a net margin of 1.93% and a return on equity of 14.09%. The company had revenue of $4.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.36 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Aramark will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ARMK. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Aramark from $37.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Aramark from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Aramark from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $36.00 to $42.50 in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Aramark from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $36.00 to $39.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Aramark from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $39.68.

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.