AGF Management Ltd. Cuts Stake in Aramark (NYSE:ARMK)

AGF Management Ltd. reduced its stake in Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) by 28.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 62,160 shares of the company’s stock after selling 25,098 shares during the quarter. AGF Management Ltd.’s holdings in Aramark were worth $2,319,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Huntington National Bank lifted its holdings in Aramark by 100.3% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 681 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in Aramark by 45.7% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 988 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in Aramark by 75.2% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 891 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in Aramark by 62.7% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,154 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 830 shares during the last quarter.

Aramark Stock Up 3.1 %

ARMK stock opened at $35.51 on Friday. 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 company’s 50 day moving average is $37.38 and its 200 day moving average is $38.07. The stock has a market cap of $9.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.96 and a beta of 1.60. 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 data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.03. Aramark had a net margin of 1.94% and a return on equity of 14.72%. The company had revenue of $4.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.61 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.41 earnings per share. Aramark’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Aramark will post 1.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aramark Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.105 per share. This is a boost from Aramark’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. This represents a $0.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Aramark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.07%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Aramark from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $47.00 price target on shares of Aramark in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Aramark from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com cut Aramark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on Aramark in a research report on Monday, February 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aramark presently has an average 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.