106,650 Shares in Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) Acquired by Raymond James Financial Inc.

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 106,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,979,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in Aramark by 6.0% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 15,714,443 shares of the company’s stock worth $608,619,000 after acquiring an additional 896,288 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Aramark by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 6,570,938 shares of the company’s stock worth $254,427,000 after purchasing an additional 441,711 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Aramark by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,363,113 shares of the company’s stock worth $169,028,000 after acquiring an additional 45,384 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Aramark by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,746,871 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,176,000 after purchasing an additional 14,210 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in shares of Aramark by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 723,090 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,978,000 after acquiring an additional 6,034 shares during the last quarter.

Aramark Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of ARMK opened at $34.28 on Thursday. Aramark has a 1 year low of $29.82 and a 1 year high of $42.49. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $36.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.09 billion, a PE ratio of 26.99 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.94.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) last released its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $4.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.61 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.41 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Aramark will post 1.92 earnings per share 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 issued a dividend of $0.105 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $0.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. This is a boost from Aramark’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. Aramark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.07%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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