Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) Holdings Lifted by Xponance Inc.

Xponance Inc. increased its holdings in Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) by 6.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 30,758 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,773 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Aramark were worth $1,148,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Aramark by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 113,139 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,221,000 after acquiring an additional 2,003 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank boosted its position in Aramark by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 492,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,364,000 after purchasing an additional 4,600 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in Aramark in the 4th quarter worth about $650,000. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Aramark by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 17,067 shares of the company’s stock worth $637,000 after purchasing an additional 563 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aramark during the 4th quarter valued at about $83,000.

Aramark Price Performance

NYSE ARMK opened at $34.45 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.13 billion, a PE ratio of 27.13 and a beta of 1.60. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.94. Aramark has a twelve month low of $29.82 and a twelve month high of $42.49.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.51 EPS 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 company had revenue of $4.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.61 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.41 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Aramark will post 1.92 EPS for the current year.

Aramark Increases Dividend

The business 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 is an increase from Aramark’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.22%. Aramark’s payout ratio is presently 33.07%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup began coverage on Aramark in a report on Monday, February 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $48.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $47.00 price target on shares of Aramark in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective 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. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Aramark from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, StockNews.com cut 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 assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.42.

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.