Vanguard Group Inc. Cuts Stake in Aramark (NYSE:ARMK)

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. has reduced its holdings in Aramark by 0.3%, owning approximately 9.59% of the company, valued at $877.72 million.
• Multiple analysts have upgraded Aramark's stock ratings recently, with price targets ranging from $44 to $47, indicating a strong interest in the company's future performance.
• Aramark has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.105 per share, representing an annual yield of 1.1%, and its payout ratio is currently at 31.11%.

Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its stake in Aramark (NYSE:ARMK - Free Report) by 0.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 25,426,273 shares of the company's stock after selling 71,307 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 9.59% of Aramark worth $877,715,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Aramark by 1.7% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 26,504 shares of the company's stock worth $915,000 after acquiring an additional 438 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Aramark by 48.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,364 shares of the company's stock worth $220,000 after acquiring an additional 2,067 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Aramark by 83.2% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,411 shares of the company's stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 641 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its stake in shares of Aramark by 3.4% during the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 31,055 shares of the company's stock worth $1,072,000 after acquiring an additional 1,020 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in shares of Aramark by 553.3% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 37,791 shares of the company's stock worth $1,305,000 after acquiring an additional 32,006 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on ARMK. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Aramark from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $43.00 to $47.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $47.00 target price on shares of Aramark in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Baird R W raised shares of Aramark from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. UBS Group set a $46.00 target price on shares of Aramark and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Aramark from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $45.44.

Aramark Trading Down 0.2%

Aramark stock traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $39.59. 1,427,999 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,277,769. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $41.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.33 and a beta of 1.33. Aramark has a 52-week low of $29.92 and a 52-week high of $44.49.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40. The firm had revenue of $4.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.66 billion. Aramark had a net margin of 2.02% and a return on equity of 15.67%. The company's revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.31 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Aramark will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aramark Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 6th will be given a $0.105 dividend. This represents a $0.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Aramark's dividend payout ratio is presently 31.11%.

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.