Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) Shares Sold by Gotham Asset Management LLC

Gotham Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Aramark (NYSE:ARMK - Free Report) by 66.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,163 shares of the company's stock after selling 49,756 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC's holdings in Aramark were worth $939,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its stake in Aramark by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 53,654 shares of the company's stock worth $2,002,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in shares of Aramark by 45.7% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 988 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Aramark by 93.0% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 770 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in Aramark by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 8,012 shares of the company's stock worth $299,000 after buying an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC boosted its holdings in Aramark by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 15,029 shares of the company's stock worth $561,000 after buying an additional 444 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Aramark Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of Aramark stock traded up $0.27 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $39.15. 1,287,246 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,035,391. Aramark has a 1 year low of $29.92 and a 1 year high of $42.49. The stock's fifty day moving average is $34.78 and its 200 day moving average is $36.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.94. The firm has a market cap of $10.26 billion, a PE ratio of 30.83 and a beta of 1.20.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $4.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.35 billion. Aramark had a net margin of 1.94% and a return on equity of 14.72%. The company's revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.30 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Aramark will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Aramark Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be paid a $0.105 dividend. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.07%. Aramark's dividend payout ratio is presently 32.31%.

Aramark Company Profile

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.