River Road Asset Management LLC Sells 141 Shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

River Road Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) by 0.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 855,285 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 141 shares during the period. UniFirst accounts for 1.9% of River Road Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest position. River Road Asset Management LLC’s holdings in UniFirst were worth $146,331,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in UniFirst during the fourth quarter worth $24,576,000. Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of UniFirst during the 3rd quarter worth about $10,270,000. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of UniFirst by 464.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 41,220 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $8,188,000 after purchasing an additional 33,919 shares during the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 365,047 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $62,456,000 after purchasing an additional 32,860 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in UniFirst by 5.2% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at UniFirst

In related news, VP David Martin Katz sold 1,299 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.95, for a total transaction of $274,024.05. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,361,682.25. This trade represents a 16.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

UniFirst Stock Performance

Shares of UNF stock opened at $205.06 on Tuesday. UniFirst Co. has a 52 week low of $149.58 and a 52 week high of $243.70. The company has a market capitalization of $3.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.22 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $212.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $198.04.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. The textile maker reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $604.91 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $606.60 million. UniFirst had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 6.00%. The business’s revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.26 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that UniFirst Co. will post 7.71 EPS for the current year.

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. UniFirst’s payout ratio is 17.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on UNF. UBS Group boosted their price target on UniFirst from $190.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. StockNews.com lowered UniFirst from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th.

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.