Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Sells 569,310 Shares of Aramark (NYSE:ARMK)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) by 85.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 93,542 shares of the company’s stock after selling 569,310 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Aramark were worth $2,629,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ARMK. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Aramark by 2,269.4% during the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,161 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,112 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Aramark by 67.0% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,196 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. Solstein Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Aramark during the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in Aramark by 82.7% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,873 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 848 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Aramark during the third quarter valued at about $213,000.

Aramark Stock Up 1.4 %

ARMK stock opened at $32.55 on Thursday. Aramark has a 1-year low of $23.95 and a 1-year high of $33.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08. The company’s 50 day moving average is $31.50 and its 200 day moving average is $29.17. The stock has a market cap of $8.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.48.

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

Aramark Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.095 per share. This represents a $0.38 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 13th. Aramark’s payout ratio is currently 15.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on ARMK shares. 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 report on Wednesday, January 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $33.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial upped their price target on Aramark from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Aramark from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $33.04.

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.