Sarasin & Partners LLP Sells 104,857 Shares of Aramark (NYSE:ARMK)

Sarasin & Partners LLP lessened its holdings in shares of Aramark (NYSE:ARMK - Free Report) by 40.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 154,507 shares of the company's stock after selling 104,857 shares during the period. Sarasin & Partners LLP owned 0.06% of Aramark worth $5,334,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARMK. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in Aramark by 93.0% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 770 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased 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 during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Aramark by 167.2% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,424 shares of the company's stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 891 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aramark during the 4th quarter worth about $72,000. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new position in Aramark during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $83,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ARMK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $47.00 price objective on shares of Aramark in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Citigroup began coverage on Aramark in a research report on Monday, February 24th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $48.00 price target for the company. UBS Group increased their price objective on Aramark from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Aramark from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $43.73.

Aramark Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ARMK traded down $0.27 on Friday, hitting $40.05. 1,328,252 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,993,787. The company's 50 day moving average price is $36.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $37.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.54 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.94. Aramark has a one year low of $29.92 and a one year high of $42.49.

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. Aramark had a return on equity of 14.72% and a net margin of 1.94%. The business had revenue of $4.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.35 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.30 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Aramark will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Aramark Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th were paid a dividend of $0.105 per share. This represents a $0.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.05%. Aramark's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.