Ulysses Management LLC Sells 318,556 Shares of Aramark (NYSE:ARMK)

Ulysses Management LLC lowered its stake in Aramark (NYSE:ARMK - Free Report) by 68.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 144,500 shares of the company's stock after selling 318,556 shares during the quarter. Aramark comprises about 0.9% of Ulysses Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Ulysses Management LLC owned 0.05% of Aramark worth $5,391,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Aramark by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,497,580 shares of the company's stock valued at $951,315,000 after purchasing an additional 178,147 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in Aramark by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 16,268,682 shares of the company's stock valued at $606,986,000 after buying an additional 554,239 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Aramark by 63.2% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 13,593,734 shares of the company's stock worth $507,182,000 after purchasing an additional 5,263,817 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI lifted its position in shares of Aramark by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI now owns 11,454,740 shares of the company's stock worth $427,376,000 after purchasing an additional 860,179 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Aramark by 29.5% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,511,152 shares of the company's stock worth $317,551,000 after buying an additional 1,940,214 shares during the last quarter.

Aramark Price Performance

Shares of ARMK traded up $0.27 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $39.15. The company had a trading volume of 1,287,246 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,033,644. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $34.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.96. Aramark has a 1-year low of $29.92 and a 1-year high of $42.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.94. The company has a market capitalization of $10.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.83 and a beta of 1.20.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company 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 company posted $0.30 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Aramark will post 1.92 EPS for the current year.

Aramark Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be given a dividend of $0.105 per share. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.07%. Aramark's dividend payout ratio is presently 32.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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