Focus Partners Wealth Buys 11,943 Shares of Aramark (NYSE:ARMK)

Focus Partners Wealth boosted its stake in Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 612,684 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,943 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth’s holdings in Aramark were worth $22,859,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Aramark by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,497,580 shares of the company’s stock worth $951,315,000 after purchasing an additional 178,147 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Aramark by 63.2% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 13,593,734 shares of the company’s stock worth $507,182,000 after purchasing an additional 5,263,817 shares during the period. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI grew its position in Aramark by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI now owns 11,454,740 shares of the company’s stock worth $427,376,000 after purchasing an additional 860,179 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Aramark by 29.5% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,511,152 shares of the company’s stock worth $317,551,000 after purchasing an additional 1,940,214 shares during the period. Finally, FIL Ltd grew its position in Aramark by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 5,738,367 shares of the company’s stock worth $214,098,000 after purchasing an additional 31,399 shares during the period.

Aramark Stock Down 0.1%

ARMK opened at $38.38 on Monday. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $29.92 and a fifty-two week high of $42.49. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $34.02 and its 200 day moving average is $36.88. The stock has a market cap of $10.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.22 and a beta of 1.20.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $4.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.35 billion. Aramark had a net margin of 1.94% and a return on equity of 14.72%. Aramark’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.30 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Aramark will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aramark Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be issued a $0.105 dividend. This represents a $0.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.09%. Aramark’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ARMK has been the topic of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $47.00 price target on shares of Aramark in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Aramark in a research note on Monday, February 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Aramark from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Aramark from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aramark presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.33.

Aramark 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.