Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Has $2.33 Million Position in Aramark (NYSE:ARMK)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans cut its holdings in Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) by 44.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 62,445 shares of the company’s stock after selling 50,649 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Aramark were worth $2,330,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position 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 worth $51,000 after buying an additional 581 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Aramark by 167.2% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,424 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 891 shares during the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aramark during the 4th quarter valued at about $83,000. Finally, Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 2,763 shares in the last quarter.

Aramark Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ARMK opened at $34.35 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.04 and a beta of 1.60. Aramark has a one year low of $29.82 and a one year high of $42.49. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.97. 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 data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $4.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.61 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.41 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Aramark will post 1.92 EPS for the current year.

Aramark Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.105 per share. This represents a $0.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.22%. This is an increase from Aramark’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Aramark’s payout ratio is presently 33.07%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ARMK. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Aramark from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley upped 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of 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 price target on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $47.00 price objective 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 given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.