Eagle Asset Management Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

Eagle Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) by 19.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,541 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 8,547 shares during the period. Eagle Asset Management Inc. owned 0.19% of UniFirst worth $6,933,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of UNF. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 0.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,695,590 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $294,066,000 after buying an additional 4,650 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of UniFirst by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 737,003 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $126,418,000 after purchasing an additional 23,069 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 5.2% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 654,495 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $130,015,000 after purchasing an additional 32,447 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 12.4% during the third quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 332,187 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $65,989,000 after purchasing an additional 36,651 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in UniFirst by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 229,749 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $45,640,000 after buying an additional 8,587 shares during the period. 78.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at UniFirst

In other UniFirst news, major shareholder The Ronald D. Croatti Trust – 1 sold 9,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.97, for a total transaction of $1,814,215.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 17,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,320,968.30. The trade was a 35.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP David Martin Katz sold 587 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.08, for a total value of $113,337.96. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,086,075. This represents a 9.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 13,294 shares of company stock valued at $2,546,632. Corporate insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

UniFirst Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE UNF opened at $200.23 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $191.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $179.99. UniFirst Co. has a fifty-two week low of $149.58 and a fifty-two week high of $205.38. The firm has a market cap of $3.72 billion, a PE ratio of 25.77 and a beta of 0.82.

UniFirst Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.70%. This is an increase from UniFirst’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. UniFirst’s payout ratio is 18.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on UNF shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of UniFirst from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on UniFirst from $199.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, UniFirst currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $186.25.

UniFirst Company Profile

UniFirst Corporation provides workplace uniforms and protective work wear clothing in the United States, Europe, and Canada. The company operates through U.S. and Canadian Rental and Cleaning, Manufacturing, Specialty Garments Rental and Cleaning, and First Aid segments. It designs, manufactures, personalizes, rents, cleans, delivers, and sells a range of uniforms and protective clothing, including shirts, pants, jackets, coveralls, lab coats, smocks, and aprons; and specialized protective wear, such as flame resistant and high visibility garments.