Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Takes Position in Aramark (NYSE:ARMK)

Key Points

• Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH has acquired 33,254 shares of Aramark, valued at approximately $1,148,000, indicating growing institutional interest in the company during Q1.
• Multiple research firms have upgraded their price targets for Aramark, with UBS raising its target to $44.00 and Royal Bank of Canada setting it at $47.00, reflecting strong analyst confidence.
• Aramark recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.105 per share, representing an annualized yield of 1.0%, demonstrating the company's commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in Aramark (NYSE:ARMK - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 33,254 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,148,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Aramark by 93.0% in 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. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Aramark in the fourth quarter valued at $72,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Aramark by 82.6% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,472 shares of the company's stock valued at $85,000 after buying an additional 1,118 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in shares of Aramark by 21.1% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,859 shares of the company's stock valued at $99,000 after buying an additional 499 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westpac Banking Corp bought a new position in shares of Aramark in the fourth quarter valued at $181,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ARMK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Aramark from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Wall Street Zen raised Aramark from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Aramark from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $47.00 price objective on shares of Aramark in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aramark presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $43.91.

Aramark Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ARMK traded up $0.67 during trading on Monday, reaching $43.16. 2,548,519 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,510,648. 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 52 week low of $29.92 and a 52 week high of $44.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.31 billion, a PE ratio of 24.99 and a beta of 1.33. The company's 50 day moving average is $41.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.97.

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

Aramark Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 6th will be paid a $0.105 dividend. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Aramark's payout ratio is 32.31%.

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.