Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) Shares Sold by Teacher Retirement System of Texas

Teacher Retirement System of Texas lessened its holdings in shares of Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) by 9.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 227,014 shares of the company’s stock after selling 24,173 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned 0.09% of Aramark worth $8,470,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in Aramark during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $716,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Aramark by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 6,570,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $254,427,000 after purchasing an additional 441,711 shares in the last quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP grew its stake in Aramark by 15.9% during the 4th quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 259,364 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,677,000 after purchasing an additional 35,616 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Aramark by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,363,113 shares of the company’s stock valued at $169,028,000 after purchasing an additional 45,384 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Aramark by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,732,661 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,106,000 after purchasing an additional 14,839 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on ARMK. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Aramark from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com downgraded Aramark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup began coverage on Aramark in a report on Monday, February 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $48.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $47.00 target price on shares of Aramark in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Aramark from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.42.

Aramark Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of Aramark stock opened at $34.45 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $37.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The company has a market capitalization of $9.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.13 and a beta of 1.60. Aramark has a 1-year low of $29.82 and a 1-year high of $42.49.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.03. Aramark had a return on equity of 14.72% and a net margin of 1.94%. The firm had revenue of $4.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.61 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.41 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Aramark will post 1.92 EPS for the current year.

Aramark Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.105 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This is a boost from Aramark’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.22%. Aramark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.07%.

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.