Handelsbanken Fonder AB Trims Stock Holdings in Aramark (NYSE:ARMK)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB decreased its holdings in Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) by 8.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 49,000 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,500 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Aramark were worth $1,377,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Aramark by 0.6% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,444,549 shares of the company’s stock valued at $882,926,000 after acquiring an additional 152,572 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in Aramark by 1.5% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 12,758,467 shares of the company’s stock valued at $442,719,000 after acquiring an additional 186,969 shares in the last quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP grew its stake in Aramark by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 3,982,858 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,918,000 after acquiring an additional 259,026 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Aramark by 60.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,969,594 shares of the company’s stock valued at $137,745,000 after acquiring an additional 1,492,542 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Aramark by 0.5% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,146,885 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,497,000 after purchasing an additional 10,570 shares during the last quarter.

Aramark Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE:ARMK opened at $32.35 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $31.56 and a 200 day moving average of $29.27. Aramark has a 52 week low of $23.95 and a 52 week high of $33.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.48.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $4.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.29 billion. Aramark had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 13.45%. The firm’s revenue was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.41 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Aramark will post 1.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Aramark Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.095 per share. This represents a $0.38 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 13th. Aramark’s payout ratio is currently 15.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on ARMK shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Aramark from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Aramark in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $33.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $33.00 target price on shares of Aramark in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Aramark from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aramark presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $33.04.

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.