8,454 Shares in Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) Bought by EntryPoint Capital LLC

EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 8,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $315,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ARMK. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in Aramark by 6.0% during 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 during the period. Point72 Europe London LLP bought a new position in shares of Aramark during the 3rd quarter worth about $18,105,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings 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 period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Aramark by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,497,580 shares of the company’s stock valued at $951,315,000 after buying an additional 178,147 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Aramark by 231.9% in the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 227,173 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,487,000 after buying an additional 158,717 shares during the period.

Aramark Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:ARMK opened at $34.35 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.11 billion, a PE ratio of 27.04 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.84. Aramark has a 1 year low of $29.82 and a 1 year high of $42.49. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $36.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.97.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) last posted 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 1.94% and a return on equity of 14.72%. The company had revenue of $4.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.61 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.41 earnings per share. The company’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 year.

Aramark Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 24th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.105 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This is a boost from Aramark’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.22%. Aramark’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.07%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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