Northern Trust Corp Raises Stock Holdings in Aramark (NYSE:ARMK)

Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Aramark (NYSE:ARMK - Free Report) by 23.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,186,757 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 420,528 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 0.82% of Aramark worth $81,588,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ARMK. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Aramark by 7.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 6,570,938 shares of the company's stock worth $254,427,000 after purchasing an additional 441,711 shares during the last quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP increased its position in shares of Aramark by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 259,364 shares of the company's stock worth $9,677,000 after acquiring an additional 35,616 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in shares of Aramark by 45.7% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 988 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Aramark by 42.2% in the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 199,657 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,470,000 after purchasing an additional 59,225 shares during the period. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in Aramark by 3.4% in the fourth 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.

Aramark Price Performance

Shares of ARMK stock traded down $0.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $38.38. 2,137,800 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,193,689. 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 52-week low of $29.92 and a 52-week high of $42.49. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $33.96 and a 200 day moving average of $36.91. The company has a market cap of $10.17 billion, a PE ratio of 30.22 and a beta of 1.20.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $4.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.35 billion. Aramark had a net margin of 1.94% and a return on equity of 14.72%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.30 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Aramark will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Aramark Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be paid a $0.105 dividend. This represents a $0.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.09%. Aramark's dividend payout ratio is presently 33.07%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on ARMK. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Aramark from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Aramark from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $47.00 price objective on shares of Aramark in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Aramark in a research note on Monday, February 24th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $43.33.

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.