Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) Shares Bought by Bank of Nova Scotia

Key Points

• The Bank of Nova Scotia increased its position in Aramark shares by 399.1%, owning a total of 473,000 shares valued at approximately $16.3 million.
• Aramark reported $0.34 earnings per share, slightly beating analysts' expectations, alongside a 1.9% year-over-year revenue growth to $4.33 billion.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.105 per share, with a dividend yield of 1.0%, and a payout ratio of approximately 32.31%.

Bank of Nova Scotia increased its holdings in Aramark (NYSE:ARMK - Free Report) by 399.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 473,000 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 378,221 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia owned 0.18% of Aramark worth $16,328,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Aramark by 29.5% in the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 17,605,896 shares of the company's stock worth $607,756,000 after acquiring an additional 4,012,162 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in Aramark by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 16,268,682 shares of the company's stock worth $606,986,000 after acquiring an additional 554,239 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI grew its holdings in Aramark by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI now owns 11,454,740 shares of the company's stock worth $427,376,000 after acquiring an additional 860,179 shares during the last quarter. FIL Ltd grew its holdings in Aramark by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 5,738,367 shares of the company's stock worth $214,098,000 after acquiring an additional 31,399 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Aramark by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,953,115 shares of the company's stock valued at $184,802,000 after purchasing an additional 19,205 shares in the last quarter.

Aramark Trading Down 8.1%

Shares of Aramark stock traded down $3.48 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $39.63. The stock had a trading volume of 6,414,087 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,536,451. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $41.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.98. The stock has a market cap of $10.39 billion, a PE ratio of 30.48 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.08. Aramark has a 12 month low of $29.92 and a 12 month high of $44.49.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.40. The company had revenue of $4.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.66 billion. Aramark had a net margin of 1.97% and a return on equity of 15.07%. The firm's revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.31 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Aramark will post 1.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aramark Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 6th will be paid a $0.105 dividend. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Aramark's dividend payout ratio is presently 32.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on ARMK shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Aramark from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Aramark from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Aramark from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $47.00 price objective on shares of Aramark in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Aramark presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $43.91.

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.