Russell Investments Group Ltd. Buys 931,904 Shares of Aramark (NYSE:ARMK)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) by 182.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,443,849 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 931,904 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Aramark were worth $40,435,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Aramark by 2,269.4% during the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,161 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,112 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of Aramark by 67.0% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,196 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. Solstein Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Aramark in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in shares of Aramark by 82.7% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,873 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 848 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Aramark during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $213,000.

Aramark Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE ARMK opened at $32.45 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08. Aramark has a 12 month low of $23.95 and a 12 month high of $33.04. The company has a market capitalization of $8.52 billion, a PE ratio of 13.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.48. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $29.34.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.05. Aramark had a return on equity of 13.45% and a net margin of 3.37%. The company had revenue of $4.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.41 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Aramark will post 1.56 EPS for the current year.

Aramark Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a $0.095 dividend. This represents a $0.38 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. Aramark’s payout ratio is currently 15.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on ARMK shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Aramark from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $33.00 price target on shares of Aramark in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Aramark in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $33.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Aramark from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $33.04.

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.