Franklin Resources Inc. Has $317.55 Million Position in Aramark (NYSE:ARMK)

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) by 29.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,511,152 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,940,214 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Aramark were worth $317,551,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in ARMK. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in Aramark in the third quarter valued at about $716,000. Sarasin & Partners LLP raised its stake in shares of Aramark by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 259,364 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,677,000 after acquiring an additional 35,616 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Aramark by 1.1% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Aramark by 6.0% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in Aramark by 45.7% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 988 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares during the last quarter.

Aramark Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of Aramark stock opened at $35.02 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.90. The stock has a market cap of $9.28 billion, a PE ratio of 27.57 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. Aramark has a 12 month low of $29.82 and a 12 month high of $42.49.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $4.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.61 billion. Aramark had a return on equity of 14.72% and a net margin of 1.94%. Aramark’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.41 EPS. Research analysts predict that Aramark will post 1.92 EPS for the current year.

Aramark Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 24th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.105 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $0.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.20%. This is a boost from Aramark’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. Aramark’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.07%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ARMK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup initiated coverage on Aramark in a research report on Monday, February 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Aramark from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $47.00 price objective on shares of Aramark in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Aramark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Aramark from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Aramark has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.