State of Tennessee Department of Treasury Cuts Stock Position in Aramark (NYSE:ARMK)

State of Tennessee Department of Treasury decreased its holdings in shares of Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 113,108 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,192 shares during the period. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury’s holdings in Aramark were worth $4,220,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Aramark by 93.0% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 770 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in 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 buying an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Aramark by 75.2% in the 4th 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 boosted its holdings in Aramark by 167.2% in the 4th 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. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Aramark during the 4th quarter worth approximately $83,000.

Aramark Stock Down 0.1 %

ARMK stock opened at $32.96 on Friday. Aramark has a one year low of $29.82 and a one year high of $42.49. The firm has a market cap of $8.74 billion, a PE ratio of 25.95 and a beta of 1.37. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $34.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.94.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) last posted 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 company had revenue of $4.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.61 billion. Aramark had a return on equity of 14.72% and a net margin of 1.94%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.41 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.105 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This is a boost from Aramark’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. This represents a $0.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.27%. Aramark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.07%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ARMK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group lowered their price target on Aramark from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Aramark in a research note on Monday, February 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $48.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $47.00 target price on shares of Aramark in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Aramark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.08.

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.