Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) Shares Sold by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lowered its stake in shares of Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,924,024 shares of the company’s stock after selling 85,512 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 1.10% of Aramark worth $109,095,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Aramark Stock Performance

ARMK stock opened at $37.04 on Friday. Aramark has a 1 year low of $29.82 and a 1 year high of $42.49. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $37.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.16 and a beta of 1.64.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 period in the previous year, the business earned $0.41 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Aramark will post 1.92 EPS for the current year.

Aramark Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 24th. Investors 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. This represents a $0.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Aramark’s payout ratio is currently 33.07%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Aramark in a report on Monday, February 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $47.00 price objective on shares of Aramark in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Aramark from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Aramark from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Aramark from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.