Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) Shares Sold by Scopia Capital Management LP

Scopia Capital Management LP trimmed its position in Aramark (NYSE:ARMK - Free Report) by 49.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 428,764 shares of the company's stock after selling 424,309 shares during the quarter. Aramark accounts for 3.4% of Scopia Capital Management LP's portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Scopia Capital Management LP owned about 0.16% of Aramark worth $16,606,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARMK. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in Aramark by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 7,621 shares of the company's stock valued at $295,000 after buying an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT lifted its holdings in Aramark by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 69,987 shares of the company's stock worth $2,381,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank raised its stake in Aramark by 100.3% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 681 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares in the last quarter. Cadent Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Aramark by 4.7% during the third quarter. Cadent Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,711 shares of the company's stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Aramark by 360.1% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 773 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 605 shares in the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on ARMK. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Aramark from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $36.00 to $42.50 in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. StockNews.com raised Aramark from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Aramark from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Aramark from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Aramark from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $36.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aramark has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $42.23.

Aramark Stock Performance

Shares of ARMK stock traded down $0.08 on Friday, reaching $40.69. The stock had a trading volume of 801,980 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,223,643. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market cap of $10.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.10 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $38.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $35.83. Aramark has a 1 year low of $26.58 and a 1 year high of $42.49.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 11th. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.54. The business had revenue of $4.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.46 billion. Aramark had a net margin of 1.51% and a return on equity of 14.06%. The company's revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.64 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Aramark will post 1.92 EPS for the current year.

Aramark Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $0.001 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.01%. Aramark's payout ratio is 42.42%.

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.