QRG Capital Management Inc. Has $503,000 Holdings in Aramark (NYSE:ARMK)

QRG Capital Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) by 7.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,473 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,025 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Aramark were worth $503,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARMK. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Aramark by 6.0% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 15,714,443 shares of the company’s stock worth $608,619,000 after acquiring an additional 896,288 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Aramark by 70.0% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,329,917 shares of the company’s stock worth $322,618,000 after purchasing an additional 3,430,131 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Aramark by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 6,570,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $254,427,000 after purchasing an additional 441,711 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Aramark by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,363,113 shares of the company’s stock valued at $169,028,000 after buying an additional 45,384 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Aramark by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,732,661 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,106,000 after buying an additional 14,839 shares during the period.

Aramark Stock Performance

Shares of ARMK opened at $35.85 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $37.68 and a 200 day moving average of $38.12. 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 has a market capitalization of $9.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.23 and a beta of 1.64. Aramark has a 12 month low of $29.82 and a 12 month high of $42.49.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.03. Aramark had a net margin of 1.94% and a return on equity of 14.72%. The firm had revenue of $4.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.61 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.41 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Aramark will post 1.92 earnings per share 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 paid a $0.105 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This is a positive change from Aramark’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.17%. Aramark’s payout ratio is presently 33.07%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ARMK has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Aramark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Aramark in a research report on Monday, February 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $48.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Aramark from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Aramark from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $47.00 target price on shares of Aramark in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus 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.