Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Grows Stock Position in Aramark (NYSE:ARMK)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in shares of Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) by 76.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 113,094 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 49,093 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Aramark were worth $4,380,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ARMK. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Aramark by 3.6% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 7,621 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank lifted its position in Aramark by 100.3% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 681 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in Aramark by 18.3% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,878 shares of the company’s stock valued at $266,000 after purchasing an additional 1,064 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Aramark by 25.8% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,733 shares of the company’s stock worth $454,000 after purchasing an additional 2,406 shares during the period. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP raised its stake in shares of Aramark by 24.1% during the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 35,227 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,364,000 after buying an additional 6,837 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on ARMK. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Aramark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $36.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Aramark from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Aramark from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Aramark from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Aramark from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Aramark has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.23.

Aramark Stock Performance

NYSE ARMK opened at $40.86 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. Aramark has a fifty-two week low of $26.58 and a fifty-two week high of $42.04. The business has a fifty day moving average of $38.39 and a 200-day moving average of $35.53. The stock has a market cap of $10.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.27 and a beta of 1.62.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 11th. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.54. The firm had revenue of $4.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.46 billion. Aramark had a net margin of 1.51% and a return on equity of 14.06%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.64 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Aramark will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aramark Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.001 per share. This represents a $0.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Aramark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.38%.

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.