Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Grows Stock Holdings in Aramark (NYSE:ARMK)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) by 17.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 64,487 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,772 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Aramark were worth $2,406,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Aramark by 100.3% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 681 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 341 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in shares of Aramark by 45.7% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 988 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of Aramark by 75.2% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,354 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 581 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Aramark by 167.2% in 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 during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Aramark by 62.7% in the 3rd 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 period.

Aramark Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ARMK opened at $35.51 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.96 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. 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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $4.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.61 billion. Aramark had a net margin of 1.94% and a return on equity of 14.72%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.41 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Aramark will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aramark Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 24th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.105 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $0.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.18%. This is a positive change from Aramark’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. Aramark’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.07%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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