Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Invests $2.06 Million in Aramark (NYSE:ARMK)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in Aramark (NYSE:ARMK - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 73,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,060,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. New York Life Investment Management LLC increased its position in Aramark by 112.2% during the third quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 27,665 shares of the company's stock worth $960,000 after purchasing an additional 14,628 shares during the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in shares of Aramark by 24.1% in the 4th quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 141,849 shares of the company's stock worth $3,986,000 after buying an additional 27,522 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Aramark by 121.0% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 368,303 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,268,000 after acquiring an additional 201,623 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Aramark by 451.3% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 107,062 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,715,000 after acquiring an additional 87,641 shares during the period. Finally, CenterBook Partners LP increased its stake in Aramark by 143.8% during the third quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 90,635 shares of the company's stock worth $3,145,000 after acquiring an additional 53,463 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Aramark in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $33.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $33.00 price target on shares of Aramark in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Aramark from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Aramark from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $33.04.

Aramark Stock Performance

ARMK stock traded up $0.02 on Thursday, reaching $31.18. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,935,577 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,471,734. Aramark has a 52 week low of $23.95 and a 52 week high of $33.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The company has a market capitalization of $8.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.48. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $31.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.92.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.05. Aramark had a return on equity of 13.45% and a net margin of 3.37%. The company had revenue of $4.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.41 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Aramark will post 1.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aramark Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 14th were issued a $0.095 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 13th. This represents a $0.38 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.22%. Aramark's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.90%.

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.