Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 5,878 Shares of Aramark (NYSE:ARMK)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Aramark (NYSE:ARMK - Free Report) by 1.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 609,715 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,878 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.23% of Aramark worth $21,047,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in Aramark by 45.7% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 988 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Aramark by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,746,871 shares of the company's stock valued at $65,176,000 after buying an additional 14,210 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Aramark in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,070,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Aramark in the 4th quarter valued at $3,979,000. Finally, Amundi raised its holdings in Aramark by 30.0% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 174,906 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,445,000 after acquiring an additional 40,366 shares during the last quarter.

Aramark Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:ARMK traded down $0.13 during trading on Friday, reaching $43.50. 1,136,824 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,994,828. 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 has a 1-year low of $29.92 and a 1-year high of $43.84. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.33. The firm has a market cap of $11.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.46 and a beta of 1.28.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $4.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.35 billion. Aramark had a net margin of 1.97% and a return on equity of 15.07%. The business's revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.30 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Aramark will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aramark Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th were issued a dividend of $0.105 per share. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. Aramark's payout ratio is 32.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on ARMK shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Aramark from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, June 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $47.00 price objective on shares of Aramark in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Aramark from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 28th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Aramark from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $43.91.

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.