Aristeia Capital L.L.C. Acquires Shares of 7,057 Aramark (NYSE:ARMK)

Aristeia Capital L.L.C. bought a new stake in Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 7,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $263,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Aramark by 93.0% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 770 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in Aramark by 45.7% during 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 in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 581 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aramark during the fourth quarter valued at about $83,000.

Aramark Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:ARMK opened at $33.58 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.44 and a beta of 1.37. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $33.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.95. 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 12-month low of $29.82 and a 12-month high of $42.49.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.03. Aramark had a return on equity of 14.72% and a net margin of 1.94%. 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 firm earned $0.41 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Aramark will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Aramark Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be given a $0.105 dividend. This represents a $0.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.25%. Aramark’s payout ratio is 33.07%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Aramark in a report on Monday, February 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $48.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $47.00 price target on shares of Aramark in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com lowered Aramark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on Aramark from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.08.

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.