Summit Trail Advisors LLC Raises Stock Position in Aramark (NYSE:ARMK)

Summit Trail Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) by 7.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,214 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 916 shares during the quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC’s holdings in Aramark were worth $493,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Aramark by 14.6% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 26,066 shares of the company’s stock worth $973,000 after buying an additional 3,312 shares during the last quarter. Fractal Investments LLC boosted its position in Aramark by 115.4% in the 4th quarter. Fractal Investments LLC now owns 16,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $627,000 after purchasing an additional 9,000 shares in the last quarter. Longboard Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Aramark during the 4th quarter worth approximately $211,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its holdings in shares of Aramark by 899.1% during the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 105,372 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,931,000 after purchasing an additional 94,825 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Aramark by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 39,273 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,465,000 after purchasing an additional 773 shares during the period.

Aramark Stock Performance

NYSE:ARMK opened at $37.52 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $38.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.83. Aramark has a 1-year low of $29.78 and a 1-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 0.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.54 and a beta of 1.64.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.03. Aramark had a return on equity of 14.72% and a net margin of 1.94%. The company had revenue of $4.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.61 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.41 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Aramark will post 1.92 EPS for the current year.

Aramark Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 24th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a $0.105 dividend. This is a boost from Aramark’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.12%. Aramark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.07%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Aramark from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Aramark from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Aramark from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Aramark from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $47.00 target price on shares of Aramark in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Aramark presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.00.

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.