Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) Position Trimmed by Gotham Asset Management LLC

Gotham Asset Management LLC trimmed its stake in Aramark (NYSE:ARMK - Free Report) by 66.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 25,163 shares of the company's stock after selling 49,756 shares during the quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC's holdings in Aramark were worth $939,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sarasin & Partners LLP lifted its holdings in Aramark by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 259,364 shares of the company's stock worth $9,677,000 after purchasing an additional 35,616 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in Aramark by 45.7% in 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 during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Aramark by 42.2% in the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 199,657 shares of the company's stock worth $7,470,000 after purchasing an additional 59,225 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings 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 during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Aramark by 14.6% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 26,066 shares of the company's stock worth $973,000 after purchasing an additional 3,312 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ARMK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Aramark from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Aramark in a research report on Monday, February 24th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $47.00 price target on shares of Aramark in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Aramark from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $43.33.

Aramark Trading Down 2.0%

ARMK traded down $0.78 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $39.00. The company had a trading volume of 1,908,046 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,039,156. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $34.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.95. The company has a market cap of $10.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.71 and a beta of 1.20. Aramark has a 12-month low of $29.92 and a 12-month high of $42.49. 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 (NYSE:ARMK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 return on equity of 14.72% and a net margin of 1.94%. Aramark's revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.30 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Aramark will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Aramark Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Investors 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 yield of 1.08%. Aramark's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.31%.

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.