Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) Shares Sold by Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. trimmed its stake in shares of Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) by 89.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,111 shares of the company’s stock after selling 117,085 shares during the quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Aramark were worth $489,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Aramark Price Performance

ARMK stock opened at $34.45 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $37.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.05. The stock has a market cap of $9.13 billion, a PE ratio of 27.13 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. Aramark has a 1 year low of $29.82 and a 1 year high of $42.49.

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

Aramark Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

About Aramark

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.