Securian Asset Management Inc. Sells 570 Shares of Aramark (NYSE:ARMK)

Securian Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,916 shares of the company’s stock after selling 570 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Aramark were worth $743,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Aramark by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 17,067 shares of the company’s stock worth $637,000 after acquiring an additional 563 shares in the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aramark in the 4th quarter valued at about $83,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in shares of Aramark by 17.9% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 64,487 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,406,000 after purchasing an additional 9,772 shares during the period. Amundi raised its stake in shares of Aramark by 30.0% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 174,906 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,445,000 after purchasing an additional 40,366 shares during the period. Finally, Banco Santander S.A. raised its stake in shares of Aramark by 43.0% in the 4th quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 304,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,380,000 after purchasing an additional 91,718 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on 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 research note on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Aramark from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Aramark in a research note on Monday, February 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $47.00 price target on shares of Aramark in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Aramark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aramark presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.42.

Aramark Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ARMK opened at $35.51 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $37.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.09. The company has a market cap of $9.41 billion, a PE ratio of 27.96 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 twelve month low of $29.82 and a twelve month high of $42.49.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $4.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.61 billion. Aramark had a return on equity of 14.72% and a net margin of 1.94%. The business’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.41 earnings per share. On average, 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.105 per share. This represents a $0.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This is a boost from Aramark’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. Aramark’s payout ratio is currently 33.07%.

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.