Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) Shares Sold by Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lowered its position in Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,779 shares of the company’s stock after selling 507 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Aramark were worth $701,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARMK. Huntington National Bank lifted its holdings in Aramark by 100.3% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 681 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in Aramark by 45.7% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 988 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in Aramark by 75.2% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,354 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 581 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Aramark by 167.2% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,424 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 891 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in Aramark by 62.7% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,154 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 830 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on ARMK shares. Citigroup started coverage on Aramark in a report on Monday, February 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted 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. StockNews.com lowered Aramark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $47.00 price target on shares of Aramark in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.42.

Aramark Stock Performance

NYSE ARMK opened at $35.51 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $9.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.96 and a beta of 1.60. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $37.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.09. Aramark has a 1-year low of $29.82 and a 1-year high of $42.49.

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

Aramark Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.105 dividend. This is an increase from Aramark’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Aramark’s payout ratio is currently 33.07%.

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.