Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) Shares Sold by BNP Paribas Financial Markets

BNP Paribas Financial Markets cut its position in Aramark (NYSE:ARMK - Free Report) by 85.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 52,277 shares of the company's stock after selling 314,338 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets' holdings in Aramark were worth $1,950,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ARMK. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Aramark by 63.2% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 13,593,734 shares of the company's stock valued at $507,182,000 after purchasing an additional 5,263,817 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Aramark in the fourth quarter valued at about $88,949,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Aramark by 29.5% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,511,152 shares of the company's stock valued at $317,551,000 after buying an additional 1,940,214 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI boosted its stake in Aramark by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI now owns 11,454,740 shares of the company's stock worth $427,376,000 after buying an additional 860,179 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Aramark by 23.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,186,757 shares of the company's stock valued at $81,588,000 after acquiring an additional 420,528 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on ARMK shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $47.00 target price on shares of Aramark in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. UBS Group raised their price target on Aramark from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Citigroup started coverage on Aramark in a report on Monday, February 24th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $48.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Aramark from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Aramark has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $43.33.

Aramark Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of ARMK stock traded down $0.78 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $39.00. 1,908,046 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,039,156. The business's fifty day moving average is $34.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.22 billion, a P/E 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 current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

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

Aramark Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.08%. 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.