Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Sells 14,195 Shares of Aramark (NYSE:ARMK)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lowered its holdings in Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) by 42.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,108 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,195 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Aramark were worth $537,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. New York Life Investment Management LLC grew its position in Aramark by 112.2% during the third quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 27,665 shares of the company’s stock valued at $960,000 after buying an additional 14,628 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Aramark by 24.1% during the 4th quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 141,849 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,986,000 after purchasing an additional 27,522 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Aramark by 121.0% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 368,303 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,268,000 after purchasing an additional 201,623 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Aramark by 451.3% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 107,062 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,715,000 after purchasing an additional 87,641 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CenterBook Partners LP grew its holdings in Aramark by 143.8% during the third quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 90,635 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,145,000 after purchasing an additional 53,463 shares during the period.

Aramark Stock Performance

NYSE ARMK opened at $32.34 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $31.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $29.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.12. Aramark has a 1 year low of $23.95 and a 1 year high of $33.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.49 billion, a PE ratio of 13.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.48.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $4.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.29 billion. Aramark had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 13.45%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.41 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Aramark will post 1.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aramark Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.095 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 13th. This represents a $0.38 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.18%. Aramark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Aramark from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $33.00 price objective on shares of Aramark in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Aramark in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $33.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Aramark from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $33.04.

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.