Royal Bank of Canada Boosts Position in Aramark (NYSE:ARMK)

Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in Aramark (NYSE:ARMK - Free Report) by 244.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 426,592 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 302,734 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned about 0.16% of Aramark worth $15,916,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in Aramark by 93.0% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 770 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in shares of Aramark by 45.7% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 988 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its position in Aramark by 167.2% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,424 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 891 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Aramark during the 4th quarter valued at about $72,000. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Aramark during the 4th quarter worth approximately $83,000.

Aramark Stock Performance

Shares of ARMK stock traded up $0.36 on Friday, hitting $40.53. 213,192 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,022,451. The firm's 50 day moving average is $35.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.99. Aramark has a one year low of $29.92 and a one year high of $42.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.62 billion, a PE ratio of 31.94 and a beta of 1.20. 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 issued 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. Aramark had a net margin of 1.94% and a return on equity of 14.72%. The firm had revenue of $4.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.30 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Aramark will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aramark Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th were issued a dividend of $0.105 per share. This represents a $0.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.04%. Aramark's payout ratio is 32.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $47.00 target price on shares of Aramark in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Aramark in a report on Monday, February 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $48.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Aramark from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Aramark from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average 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.