Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) Shares Acquired by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 492,200 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,600 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Aramark were worth $18,364,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of Aramark by 3.6% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 7,621 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its position in shares of Aramark by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 53,654 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,002,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in shares of Aramark by 45.7% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 988 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank increased its position in shares of Aramark by 100.3% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 681 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Aramark by 2.5% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 16,504 shares of the company’s stock worth $643,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares in the last quarter.

Aramark Stock Performance

NYSE ARMK opened at $34.84 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $9.24 billion, a PE ratio of 27.43 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.84 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. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $37.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.10.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) last released 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. Aramark had a return on equity of 14.72% and a net margin of 1.94%. The business had revenue of $4.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.61 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.41 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Aramark will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Aramark Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 24th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.105 per share. This is a positive change from Aramark’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. Aramark’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.07%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Aramark from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $47.00 target price on shares of Aramark in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com cut Aramark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Aramark in a report on Monday, February 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $48.00 target price for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Aramark from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aramark currently 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.