Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) Shares Acquired by Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC

Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) by 20.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 83,835 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 14,096 shares during the period. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC’s holdings in Aramark were worth $3,128,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Aramark by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 700,148 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,123,000 after purchasing an additional 52,324 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Aramark by 23.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,186,757 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,588,000 after buying an additional 420,528 shares during the period. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Aramark during the 4th quarter worth about $2,118,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new position in Aramark during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,177,000. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC grew its position in Aramark by 139.3% in the 4th quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 91,617 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,418,000 after acquiring an additional 53,326 shares in the last quarter.

Aramark Stock Performance

Shares of ARMK opened at $33.58 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $33.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.95. Aramark has a 12-month low of $29.82 and a 12-month high of $42.49. The firm has a market cap of $8.90 billion, a PE ratio of 26.44 and a beta of 1.37. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $4.61 billion. Aramark had a return on equity of 14.72% and a net margin of 1.94%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.41 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Aramark will post 1.92 EPS for the current year.

Aramark Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be given a dividend of $0.105 per share. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.25%. Aramark’s payout ratio is 33.07%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ARMK has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Aramark in a research note on Monday, February 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $47.00 price target on shares of Aramark in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com lowered Aramark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on Aramark from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.