Black Creek Investment Management Inc. Reduces Holdings in Aramark $ARMK

Black Creek Investment Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 679,019 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,798 shares during the quarter. Aramark comprises 1.3% of Black Creek Investment Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Black Creek Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.26% of Aramark worth $28,431,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its position in Aramark by 40,750.0% during the 1st quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 817 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 815 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Aramark by 160.7% during the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 678 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its stake in Aramark by 241.3% in the second quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 1,116 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 789 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new position in Aramark in the second quarter worth $51,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in Aramark by 1,323.1% during the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,295 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 1,204 shares during the period.

Aramark Trading Down 5.0%

Shares of NYSE ARMK opened at $36.14 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $38.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.77. Aramark has a 52-week low of $29.92 and a 52-week high of $44.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.29. The company has a market cap of $9.50 billion, a PE ratio of 26.77 and a beta of 1.24.

Aramark Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be issued a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. This is a positive change from Aramark’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. Aramark’s dividend payout ratio is 31.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ARMK. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Aramark from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Aramark in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $44.00 target price on shares of Aramark in a research note on Monday. Baird R W raised Aramark from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded Aramark from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $43.00 to $47.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aramark has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.83.

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.