Norges Bank Takes Position in Aramark (NYSE:ARMK)

Norges Bank bought a new stake in Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 2,384,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $88,949,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in Aramark by 45.7% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 988 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of Aramark by 75.2% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,354 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 581 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its holdings in Aramark by 167.2% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,424 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 891 shares during the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Aramark during the 4th quarter valued at $83,000. Finally, Quarry LP grew its holdings in Aramark by 1,322.0% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,972 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,000 after acquiring an additional 2,763 shares during the last quarter.

Aramark Stock Performance

Shares of ARMK stock opened at $35.11 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $36.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.88. The stock has a market cap of $9.31 billion, a PE ratio of 27.65 and a beta of 1.60. Aramark has a 12 month low of $29.82 and a 12 month high of $42.49.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.03. Aramark had a net margin of 1.94% and a return on equity of 14.72%. The business had revenue of $4.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.61 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.41 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Aramark will post 1.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aramark Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.105 per share. This is a boost from Aramark’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $0.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.20%. Aramark’s payout ratio is presently 33.07%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ARMK. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Aramark in a report on Monday, February 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $48.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $47.00 price objective on shares of Aramark in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Aramark from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Aramark from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Aramark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Aramark currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.42.

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.