BNP Paribas Financial Markets Trims Stake in Aramark (NYSE:ARMK)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lowered its holdings in shares of Aramark (NYSE:ARMK - Free Report) by 85.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 52,277 shares of the company's stock after selling 314,338 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets' holdings in Aramark were worth $1,950,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Aramark by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,497,580 shares of the company's stock valued at $951,315,000 after buying an additional 178,147 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Aramark by 63.2% during 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 buying an additional 5,263,817 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI grew its holdings in Aramark by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI now owns 11,454,740 shares of the company's stock valued at $427,376,000 after buying an additional 860,179 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Aramark by 29.5% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, FIL Ltd grew its holdings in Aramark by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 5,738,367 shares of the company's stock valued at $214,098,000 after buying an additional 31,399 shares in the last quarter.

Aramark Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of ARMK stock traded up $0.27 on Friday, reaching $39.15. 1,287,246 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,035,391. Aramark has a 52 week low of $29.92 and a 52 week high of $42.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.26 billion, a PE ratio of 30.83 and a beta of 1.20. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $34.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.97.

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

Aramark Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.105 per share. This represents a $0.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.07%. Aramark's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ARMK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup initiated coverage on Aramark in a report on Monday, February 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $48.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $47.00 price target on shares of Aramark in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Aramark from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Aramark from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $43.33.

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.