Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Purchases 19,205 Shares of Aramark (NYSE:ARMK)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,953,115 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 19,205 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 1.87% of Aramark worth $184,802,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Aramark by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 53,654 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,002,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position 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 during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Aramark by 93.0% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 770 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 371 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of Aramark by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 8,012 shares of the company’s stock valued at $299,000 after buying an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC increased its stake in shares of Aramark by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 15,029 shares of the company’s stock valued at $561,000 after buying an additional 444 shares during the period.

Aramark Price Performance

Shares of ARMK opened at $32.99 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $34.44 and its 200 day moving average is $37.20. Aramark has a 12-month low of $29.82 and a 12-month 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 stock has a market cap of $8.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.98 and a beta of 1.37.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.03. Aramark had a net margin of 1.94% and a return on equity of 14.72%. The firm had revenue of $4.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.61 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.41 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Aramark will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aramark Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued 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 yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Aramark’s payout ratio is currently 33.07%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ARMK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Aramark from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $47.00 price target on shares of Aramark in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup started 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, StockNews.com cut Aramark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Aramark has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.08.

Aramark Company 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.