Sigma Planning Corp Grows Stake in Aramark (NYSE:ARMK)

Sigma Planning Corp raised its holdings in shares of Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) by 81.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,028 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,362 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in Aramark were worth $859,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in Aramark by 100.3% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 681 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Aramark in the third quarter worth $28,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of Aramark by 75.2% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,354 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 581 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Aramark by 167.2% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,424 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 891 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 830 shares during the period.

Aramark Trading Down 0.8 %

ARMK stock opened at $36.87 on Wednesday. Aramark has a 52-week low of $29.82 and a 52-week high of $42.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The firm has a market cap of $9.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.03 and a beta of 1.64. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $37.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.09.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $4.55 billion for 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 for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.41 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Aramark will post 1.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aramark Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 24th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.105 dividend. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This is a positive change from Aramark’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. Aramark’s payout ratio is presently 33.07%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on ARMK. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Aramark from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. StockNews.com lowered Aramark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley increased 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. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Aramark from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $47.00 price objective on shares of Aramark in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Aramark currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.