Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) Shares Sold by Pacer Advisors Inc.

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors Inc. has reduced its stake in Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) by 75.5%, selling 29,643 shares and ending with 9,630 shares valued at approximately $332,000.
• Several institutional investors have increased their positions in Aramark, with LPL Financial LLC boosting its holdings by 23.2% and Arrowstreet Capital acquiring a new stake worth $3.34 million.
• Aramark is currently rated as a "Moderate Buy" by analysts, with a price target averaging $43.91, as two analysts have rated it as a hold and ten as a buy.

Pacer Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in Aramark (NYSE:ARMK - Free Report) by 75.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 9,630 shares of the company's stock after selling 29,643 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Aramark were worth $332,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Neo Ivy Capital Management raised its stake in Aramark by 53.4% during the 1st quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management now owns 77,098 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,661,000 after buying an additional 26,854 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers purchased a new position in shares of Aramark during the 1st quarter valued at $267,000. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Aramark by 30.5% during the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 22,744 shares of the company's stock valued at $785,000 after buying an additional 5,316 shares in the last quarter. Egerton Capital UK LLP increased its holdings in Aramark by 79.0% in the 1st quarter. Egerton Capital UK LLP now owns 2,075,126 shares of the company's stock valued at $71,633,000 after acquiring an additional 916,054 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS increased its holdings in shares of Aramark by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 53,300 shares of the company's stock worth $1,840,000 after buying an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ARMK has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group set a $46.00 target price on shares of Aramark and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $47.00 price target on shares of Aramark in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Aramark from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, June 30th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Aramark from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the company from $43.00 to $47.00 in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Aramark from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $44.27.

Aramark Stock Up 0.3%

Aramark stock traded up $0.13 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $39.59. The stock had a trading volume of 1,719,327 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,998,030. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $41.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.98. Aramark has a 52-week low of $29.92 and a 52-week high of $44.49. The stock has a market cap of $10.37 billion, a PE ratio of 30.45 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.40. Aramark had a net margin of 1.97% and a return on equity of 15.07%. The company had revenue of $4.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.66 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.31 EPS. The business's revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Aramark will post 1.92 EPS for the current year.

Aramark Dividend Announcement

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

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.