Handelsbanken Fonder AB Raises Holdings in Aramark (NYSE:ARMK)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its stake in Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) by 8.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 63,300 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,800 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Aramark were worth $2,362,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ARMK. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Aramark by 70.0% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,329,917 shares of the company’s stock worth $322,618,000 after buying an additional 3,430,131 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in Aramark by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 15,714,443 shares of the company’s stock worth $608,619,000 after purchasing an additional 896,288 shares during the period. Point72 Europe London LLP acquired a new position in Aramark in the 3rd quarter worth about $18,105,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Aramark by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 6,570,938 shares of the company’s stock worth $254,427,000 after purchasing an additional 441,711 shares during the period. Finally, Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd raised its holdings in Aramark by 277.2% in the 3rd quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 196,801 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,622,000 after purchasing an additional 144,625 shares during the period.

Aramark Price Performance

ARMK stock opened at $37.21 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $37.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.86 billion, a PE ratio of 29.30 and a beta of 1.64. Aramark has a 1 year low of $29.82 and a 1 year high of $42.49.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) last posted 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. The business had revenue of $4.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.61 billion. Aramark had a return on equity of 14.72% and a net margin of 1.94%. The business’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.41 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Aramark will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aramark Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.105 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This is a positive change from Aramark’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. This represents a $0.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.13%. Aramark’s dividend payout ratio is 33.07%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on ARMK shares. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Aramark from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Aramark from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Aramark from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Citigroup started coverage on Aramark in a report on Monday. They set a “buy” rating and a $48.00 target price for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Aramark from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given 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.