Retirement Systems of Alabama Acquires 306 Shares of Aramark (NYSE:ARMK)

Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its stake in Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) by 0.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 320,333 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Aramark were worth $11,952,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ARMK. Huntington National Bank raised its position in shares of Aramark by 100.3% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 681 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 341 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Aramark during the third quarter valued at about $28,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in Aramark by 360.1% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 773 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 605 shares during the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in shares of Aramark in the 3rd quarter worth about $52,000. Finally, CWM LLC increased its position in shares of Aramark by 112.6% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,822 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 965 shares during the last quarter.

Aramark Stock Performance

Shares of ARMK stock opened at $38.07 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $38.61 and a 200 day moving average of $37.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.45 and a beta of 1.64. Aramark has a 52 week low of $28.51 and a 52 week high of $42.49.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.03. Aramark had a net margin of 1.51% and a return on equity of 14.06%. The company had revenue of $4.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.61 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.41 earnings per share. Aramark’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Aramark will post 1.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Aramark Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 24th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.105 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This is a positive change from Aramark’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.10%. Aramark’s payout ratio is currently 42.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ARMK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $47.00 target price on shares of Aramark in a research report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Aramark from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Aramark from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Aramark from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Aramark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.00.

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.