Bank of Montreal Can Decreases Stock Position in Aramark (NYSE:ARMK)

Bank of Montreal Can reduced its holdings in shares of Aramark (NYSE:ARMK - Free Report) by 61.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 46,560 shares of the company's stock after selling 74,642 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can's holdings in Aramark were worth $1,737,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. 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. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Aramark by 75.2% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,354 shares of the company's stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 581 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its holdings in Aramark by 167.2% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,424 shares of the company's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 891 shares in the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Aramark during the 4th quarter valued at about $83,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Aramark by 29.9% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,297 shares of the company's stock worth $160,000 after buying an additional 990 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Aramark in a report on Monday, February 24th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $48.00 target price for the company. UBS Group lowered their price target on Aramark from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. StockNews.com downgraded Aramark from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $47.00 target price on shares of Aramark in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $43.08.

Aramark Stock Up 2.7 %

Shares of NYSE:ARMK traded up $0.84 on Tuesday, reaching $32.29. The company had a trading volume of 1,794,367 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,079,620. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.56 billion, a PE ratio of 25.43 and a beta of 1.37. Aramark has a 52-week low of $29.82 and a 52-week high of $42.49. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $34.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.23.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 net margin of 1.94% and a return on equity of 14.72%. The business had revenue of $4.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.61 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.41 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Aramark will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aramark Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.105 dividend. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.30%. This is an increase from Aramark's previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Aramark's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.07%.

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.