Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Acquires 809,792 Shares of Aramark $ARMK

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Aramark by 16.3% in Q1, now owning approximately 2.20% of the company, valued at $198.9 million.
• Aramark recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.105, with an annualized yield of 1.1% and a payout ratio of 31.11%.
• Wall Street analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Aramark, with a price target averaging around $45.44.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Aramark (NYSE:ARMK - Free Report) by 16.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,762,907 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 809,792 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 2.20% of Aramark worth $198,922,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ARMK. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its stake in shares of Aramark by 40,750.0% in the 1st quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 817 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 815 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Aramark by 83.2% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,411 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 641 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aramark in the 4th quarter valued at $72,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Aramark by 82.6% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,472 shares of the company's stock valued at $85,000 after buying an additional 1,118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its stake in shares of Aramark by 71.0% in the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,534 shares of the company's stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 1,052 shares in the last quarter.

Aramark Price Performance

ARMK traded up $0.5980 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $40.0180. The company had a trading volume of 1,355,781 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,583,971. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.29. The company has a market capitalization of $10.52 billion, a PE ratio of 29.64 and a beta of 1.33. Aramark has a twelve month low of $29.92 and a twelve month high of $44.49. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $41.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.06.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.40. The firm had revenue of $4.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.66 billion. Aramark had a net margin of 2.02% and a return on equity of 15.67%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.31 EPS. Aramark has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.910-1.980 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Aramark will post 1.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aramark Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 6th were given a $0.105 dividend. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Aramark's payout ratio is presently 31.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ARMK. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Aramark from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Aramark from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Aramark from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. UBS Group set a $46.00 target price on shares of Aramark and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $47.00 target price on shares of Aramark in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $45.44.

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.