Leeward Investments LLC MA Sells 7,620 Shares of Aramark (NYSE:ARMK)

Leeward Investments LLC MA cut its stake in Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 209,332 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,620 shares during the period. Leeward Investments LLC MA owned 0.08% of Aramark worth $7,810,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sigma Planning Corp lifted its holdings in Aramark by 81.8% in the fourth quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 23,028 shares of the company’s stock valued at $859,000 after buying an additional 10,362 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in Aramark by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 63,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,362,000 after purchasing an additional 4,800 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its stake in Aramark by 167.2% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,424 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 891 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its stake in Aramark by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 8,012 shares of the company’s stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares during the period. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its stake in Aramark by 16.0% during the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 8,761 shares of the company’s stock worth $347,000 after purchasing an additional 1,209 shares during the period.

Aramark Stock Performance

Shares of Aramark stock opened at $35.92 on Monday. Aramark has a 52 week low of $29.82 and a 52 week high of $42.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $37.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.07. The company has a market cap of $9.52 billion, a PE ratio of 28.28 and a beta of 1.64.

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, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.61 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.41 earnings per share. Aramark’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Aramark will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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. This is a positive change from Aramark’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. This represents a $0.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. Aramark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.07%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ARMK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $47.00 target price on shares of Aramark in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Aramark from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Aramark from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Aramark from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Aramark from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Three investment 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 company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.00.

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.