MQS Management LLC Invests $283,000 in Aramark (NYSE:ARMK)

MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 8,314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $283,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ARMK. Public Sector Pension Investment Board acquired a new stake in Aramark in the 4th quarter valued at about $75,477,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Aramark in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $68,309,000. Farallon Capital Management LLC raised its position in Aramark by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 17,822,937 shares of the company’s stock worth $579,602,000 after purchasing an additional 923,683 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its holdings in Aramark by 51.0% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,209,513 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,087,000 after buying an additional 746,618 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Aramark by 18.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,731,963 shares of the company’s stock valued at $160,977,000 after buying an additional 720,738 shares during the last quarter.

Aramark Trading Down 3.0 %

ARMK opened at $37.75 on Friday. Aramark has a twelve month low of $23.95 and a twelve month high of $38.99. The firm has a market cap of $9.93 billion, a PE ratio of 15.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.96. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $35.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.42.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.01. Aramark had a return on equity of 14.09% and a net margin of 1.93%. The business had revenue of $4.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.36 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Aramark will post 1.57 EPS for the current year.

Aramark Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 19th were paid a dividend of $0.095 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 19th. This represents a $0.38 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.01%. Aramark’s payout ratio is 15.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America boosted their target price on Aramark from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Aramark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $36.00 to $39.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Aramark from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. StockNews.com raised shares of Aramark from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Aramark from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Aramark presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $37.36.

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.