California Public Employees Retirement System Cuts Stock Holdings in Aramark (NYSE:ARMK)

California Public Employees Retirement System reduced its stake in Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) by 7.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 449,561 shares of the company’s stock after selling 38,476 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.17% of Aramark worth $16,773,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of ARMK. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Aramark by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 45,702 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,770,000 after buying an additional 2,329 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its holdings in Aramark by 9.1% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 7,955 shares of the company’s stock worth $308,000 after acquiring an additional 662 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in Aramark by 2.5% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 16,504 shares of the company’s stock worth $643,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its position in Aramark by 1,322.0% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,972 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,000 after purchasing an additional 2,763 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in Aramark in the 3rd quarter valued at $716,000.

Aramark Price Performance

ARMK stock opened at $31.31 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $36.30 and a 200-day moving average of $37.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.65 and a beta of 1.60. Aramark has a 12 month low of $29.82 and a 12 month high of $42.49.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $4.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.61 billion. Aramark had a net margin of 1.94% and a return on equity of 14.72%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.41 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Aramark will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aramark Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.105 per share. This represents a $0.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This is an increase from Aramark’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. Aramark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.07%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ARMK. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Aramark in a report on Monday, February 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Aramark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Aramark from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $47.00 price objective on shares of Aramark in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Aramark from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.42.

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.