Natixis Advisors LLC Grows Stake in Aramark (NYSE:ARMK)

Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 113,139 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,003 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Aramark were worth $4,221,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in Aramark by 45.7% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 988 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of Aramark by 75.2% in 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 period. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its holdings in Aramark by 167.2% during 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. Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Aramark during the 4th quarter worth $83,000. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its position in Aramark by 1,322.0% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,972 shares of the company’s stock valued at $115,000 after buying an additional 2,763 shares during the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ARMK. StockNews.com lowered Aramark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup started coverage on Aramark in a research report on Monday, February 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $48.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Aramark from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Aramark from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $47.00 target price on shares of Aramark in a research report 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aramark has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.42.

Aramark Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE:ARMK opened at $34.45 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 stock has a 50 day moving average of $37.22 and a 200-day moving average of $38.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.13 billion, a PE ratio of 27.13 and a beta of 1.60. Aramark has a 52 week low of $29.82 and a 52 week high of $42.49.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 14.72% and a net margin of 1.94%. The firm had revenue of $4.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.61 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.41 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict 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 a boost from Aramark’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.22%. Aramark’s dividend payout ratio is 33.07%.

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.