Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) Shares Bought by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its position in shares of Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,773 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,644 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Aramark were worth $1,260,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Aramark by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,497,580 shares of the company’s stock valued at $951,315,000 after purchasing an additional 178,147 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Aramark by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 6,570,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $254,427,000 after buying an additional 441,711 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Aramark by 1.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,363,113 shares of the company’s stock worth $169,028,000 after buying an additional 45,384 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Aramark in the fourth quarter worth $88,949,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Aramark by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,746,871 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,176,000 after acquiring an additional 14,210 shares in the last quarter.

Aramark Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ARMK opened at $31.31 on Friday. Aramark has a 12-month low of $29.82 and a 12-month high of $42.49. The company has a market cap of $8.30 billion, a PE ratio of 24.65 and a beta of 1.60. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) last announced 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.61 billion. Aramark had a return on equity of 14.72% and a net margin of 1.94%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.41 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Aramark will post 1.92 EPS for the current year.

Aramark Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.105 dividend. This is a positive change from Aramark’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. This represents a $0.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Aramark’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.07%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. 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. Citigroup started coverage on Aramark in a report on Monday, February 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $48.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com lowered Aramark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Aramark from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.42.

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.