Sigma Planning Corp Increases Stake in Aramark (NYSE:ARMK)

Sigma Planning Corp grew its holdings in Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) by 81.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,028 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,362 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in Aramark were worth $859,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Aramark by 70.0% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,329,917 shares of the company’s stock valued at $322,618,000 after purchasing an additional 3,430,131 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of Aramark by 6.0% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 15,714,443 shares of the company’s stock worth $608,619,000 after acquiring an additional 896,288 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Europe London LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Aramark in the third quarter valued at about $18,105,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Aramark by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 6,570,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $254,427,000 after acquiring an additional 441,711 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Aramark by 277.2% during the third quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 196,801 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,622,000 after purchasing an additional 144,625 shares during the period.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on ARMK shares. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Aramark from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Aramark in a research note on Monday. They set a “buy” rating and a $48.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Aramark from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Aramark from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $47.00 target price on shares of Aramark in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.42.

Aramark Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE:ARMK opened at $36.87 on Wednesday. Aramark has a 52-week low of $29.82 and a 52-week high of $42.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $37.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.09. The company has a market capitalization of $9.77 billion, a PE ratio of 29.03 and a beta of 1.64.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.03. Aramark had a net margin of 1.94% and a return on equity of 14.72%. The firm had revenue of $4.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.61 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.41 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Aramark will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aramark Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 24th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.105 per share. This is an increase from Aramark’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Aramark’s payout ratio is currently 33.07%.

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.