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

Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in Aramark (NYSE:ARMK - Free Report) by 244.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 426,592 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 302,734 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 0.16% of Aramark worth $15,916,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Point72 Europe London LLP lifted its holdings in Aramark by 108.7% in the 4th quarter. Point72 Europe London LLP now owns 975,531 shares of the company's stock worth $36,397,000 after buying an additional 508,061 shares during the period. PointState Capital LP lifted its stake in shares of Aramark by 135.4% in the 4th quarter. PointState Capital LP now owns 2,690,617 shares of the company's stock valued at $100,387,000 after purchasing an additional 1,547,792 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Aramark by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 12,325 shares of the company's stock valued at $460,000 after purchasing an additional 841 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Aramark by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 104,097 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,884,000 after purchasing an additional 2,521 shares during the period. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Aramark in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,304,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup began coverage on Aramark in a research note on Monday, February 24th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $48.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $47.00 target price on shares of Aramark in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Aramark from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Aramark from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aramark has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $43.33.

Aramark Stock Performance

Shares of ARMK traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $40.13. The stock had a trading volume of 716,199 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,027,733. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.84. Aramark has a 12 month low of $29.92 and a 12 month high of $42.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.52 billion, a PE ratio of 31.60 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $35.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.98.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $4.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.35 billion. Aramark had a return on equity of 14.72% and a net margin of 1.94%. Aramark's quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.30 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Aramark will post 1.92 EPS for the current year.

Aramark Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th were given a $0.105 dividend. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.05%. Aramark's payout ratio is 32.31%.

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.