Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) Stake Increased by Sarasin & Partners LLP

Sarasin & Partners LLP increased its stake in Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) by 15.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 259,364 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 35,616 shares during the period. Sarasin & Partners LLP owned about 0.10% of Aramark worth $9,677,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ARMK. Huntington National Bank increased its stake in Aramark by 100.3% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 681 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Aramark during the third quarter valued at $28,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Aramark by 360.1% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 773 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 605 shares during the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in Aramark during the third quarter valued at $52,000. Finally, CWM LLC increased its stake in Aramark by 112.6% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,822 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 965 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on ARMK. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Aramark from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Aramark from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Aramark from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Aramark from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Aramark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.59.

Aramark Price Performance

Shares of ARMK opened at $39.18 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.58 and a beta of 1.64. Aramark has a fifty-two week low of $28.30 and a fifty-two week high of $42.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The business’s 50-day moving average is $38.83 and its 200-day moving average is $37.21.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 11th. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54. Aramark had a return on equity of 14.06% and a net margin of 1.51%. The company had revenue of $4.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.64 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Aramark will post 1.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aramark Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $0.001 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.01%. Aramark’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.