Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Buys New Shares in Aramark $ARMK

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 76,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,089,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Aramark by 163.1% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 8,860,010 shares of the company’s stock worth $326,580,000 after purchasing an additional 5,492,046 shares during the last quarter. Milford Funds Ltd. acquired a new stake in Aramark in the 4th quarter valued at about $181,204,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in Aramark during the fourth quarter worth about $128,738,000. Junto Capital Management LP bought a new position in Aramark during the third quarter worth about $132,157,000. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP acquired a new position in Aramark during the fourth quarter worth approximately $118,110,000.

Aramark Price Performance

ARMK stock opened at $56.09 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85. Aramark has a 12 month low of $35.07 and a 12 month high of $56.23. The firm has a market cap of $14.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.12. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $50.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.51.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 12th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.02. Aramark had a net margin of 1.84% and a return on equity of 17.05%. The business had revenue of $4.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.75 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.35 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Aramark has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.180-2.280 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Aramark will post 2.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aramark Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 20th were issued a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 20th. Aramark’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ARMK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Truist Financial increased their price target on Aramark from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Aramark from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Aramark from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Aramark from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Aramark from $47.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $56.96.

Aramark Profile

Aramark (NYSE: ARMK) is a global provider of food services, facilities management and uniform solutions, serving clients across a wide array of industries including education, healthcare, business and government. The company operates through three primary segments: Food and Support Services, Uniform and Career Apparel, and Facility Services, delivering integrated solutions designed to enhance guest experiences, improve operational efficiencies and maintain safe, clean environments. Aramark’s offerings include corporate dining, patient and senior nutrition, campus dining, sports and entertainment concessions, custodial services, technical maintenance and industrial laundry.

Founded in 1959 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Aramark has expanded its footprint to more than 20 countries, with a strong presence in North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia.