Nomura Holdings Inc. Makes New Investment in Aramark (NYSE:ARMK)

Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Aramark (NYSE:ARMK - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 34,957 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,304,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Aramark by 63.2% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Aramark during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $88,949,000. 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. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI increased its stake 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. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of Aramark by 3.5% during 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 in the last quarter.

Aramark Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE ARMK traded up $0.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $39.00. The company had a trading volume of 356,998 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,030,625. The stock has a market cap of $10.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.75 and a beta of 1.20. Aramark has a 52 week low of $29.92 and a 52 week high of $42.49. The business's 50-day moving average is $34.70 and its 200-day moving average is $36.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.30 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Aramark will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Aramark Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.105 per share. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.08%. Aramark's payout ratio is currently 32.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ARMK. Citigroup assumed 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Aramark from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $47.00 target price on shares of Aramark in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $43.33.

Aramark 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.