Vanguard Group Inc. Raises Stake in Aramark (NYSE:ARMK)

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Aramark (NYSE:ARMK - Free Report) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,497,580 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 178,147 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 9.62% of Aramark worth $951,315,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in shares of Aramark by 45.7% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 988 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Aramark by 75.2% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,354 shares of the company's stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 581 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Aramark by 167.2% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,424 shares of the company's stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 891 shares during the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aramark in the 4th quarter valued at $83,000. Finally, Quarry LP grew its holdings in shares of Aramark by 1,322.0% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,972 shares of the company's stock valued at $115,000 after purchasing an additional 2,763 shares during the last quarter.

Aramark Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ARMK traded down $0.09 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $34.94. 197,059 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,083,926. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.26 billion, a PE ratio of 27.46 and a beta of 1.60. 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 has a 52-week low of $29.82 and a 52-week high of $42.49.

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

Aramark Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.105 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This is an increase from Aramark's previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.20%. Aramark's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.07%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on ARMK shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $47.00 price target on shares of Aramark in a research report 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. StockNews.com cut Aramark from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Aramark from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Aramark from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Aramark has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $43.42.

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.