AGF Management Ltd. Sells 25,098 Shares of Aramark (NYSE:ARMK)

AGF Management Ltd. reduced its holdings in shares of Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) by 28.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 62,160 shares of the company’s stock after selling 25,098 shares during the period. AGF Management Ltd.’s holdings in Aramark were worth $2,319,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake 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 valued at $608,619,000 after purchasing an additional 896,288 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Aramark by 70.0% during 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. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Aramark by 7.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 6,570,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $254,427,000 after purchasing an additional 441,711 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Aramark by 1.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,363,113 shares of the company’s stock worth $169,028,000 after acquiring an additional 45,384 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Aramark by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,746,871 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,176,000 after acquiring an additional 14,210 shares during the period.

Aramark Price Performance

ARMK opened at $35.51 on Friday. Aramark has a 12-month low of $29.82 and a 12-month high of $42.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $37.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.07. The company has a market cap of $9.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.96 and a beta of 1.60.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 14.72% and a net margin of 1.94%. 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 company earned $0.41 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Aramark will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aramark Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.105 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. 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 1.18%. Aramark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.07%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on ARMK shares. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Aramark from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $47.00 price target on shares of Aramark in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup started coverage on Aramark in a research note on Monday, February 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $48.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Aramark from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Aramark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.42.

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.