Retirement Systems of Alabama Acquires 306 Shares of Aramark (NYSE:ARMK)

Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its stake in shares of Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) by 0.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 320,333 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned about 0.12% of Aramark worth $11,952,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in Aramark by 6.0% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 15,714,443 shares of the company’s stock worth $608,619,000 after buying an additional 896,288 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Aramark by 70.0% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,329,917 shares of the company’s stock worth $322,618,000 after acquiring an additional 3,430,131 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Aramark by 7.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 6,570,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $254,427,000 after purchasing an additional 441,711 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Aramark by 1.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,363,113 shares of the company’s stock valued at $169,028,000 after purchasing an additional 45,384 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Aramark by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,732,661 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,106,000 after purchasing an additional 14,839 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ARMK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Aramark from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Aramark from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Aramark from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Aramark from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Aramark from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.00.

Aramark Stock Up 0.1 %

Aramark stock opened at $38.07 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.45 and a beta of 1.64. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $38.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.70. Aramark has a 1-year low of $28.51 and a 1-year high of $42.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 14.06% and a net margin of 1.51%. The company had revenue of $4.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.61 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.41 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Aramark will post 1.93 earnings per share 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 dividend of $0.105 per share. This represents a $0.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This is a positive change from Aramark’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. Aramark’s dividend payout ratio is 42.42%.

Aramark Company 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.