State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Grows Holdings in Aramark (NYSE:ARMK)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D increased its position in shares of Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) by 4.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 136,152 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,630 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D owned approximately 0.05% of Aramark worth $3,826,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Aramark by 2,269.4% in the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,161 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,112 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Aramark by 67.0% in 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 period. Solstein Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aramark in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in shares of Aramark by 82.7% in 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 period. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Aramark in the third quarter valued at approximately $213,000.

Aramark Price Performance

Shares of Aramark stock opened at $32.35 on Friday. Aramark has a 52-week low of $23.95 and a 52-week high of $33.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a fifty day moving average of $31.56 and a 200-day moving average of $29.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.27.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $4.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.41 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Aramark will post 1.56 EPS for the current year.

Aramark Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ARMK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $33.00 price objective on shares of Aramark in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Aramark in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $33.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Aramark from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Aramark from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock 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 issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently 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.