UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) Shares Purchased by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,690,940 shares of the textile maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,138 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 9.04% of UniFirst worth $309,290,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Neuberger Berman Group LLC grew its position in shares of UniFirst by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 2,167 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $396,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of UniFirst in the 4th quarter worth approximately $215,000. Eagle Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of UniFirst by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 47,997 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $8,779,000 after acquiring an additional 966 shares in the last quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of UniFirst in the 4th quarter worth approximately $375,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of UniFirst in the 4th quarter worth approximately $82,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on UNF shares. StockNews.com upgraded UniFirst from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on UniFirst from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on UniFirst from $185.00 to $199.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on UniFirst from $186.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $186.00.

UniFirst Price Performance

Shares of UniFirst stock opened at $171.53 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $160.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $167.10. The company has a market capitalization of $3.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.04 and a beta of 0.85. UniFirst Co. has a 1-year low of $149.58 and a 1-year high of $187.22.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 27th. The textile maker reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by ($0.19). UniFirst had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 5.44%. The firm had revenue of $590.71 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $587.56 million. On average, research analysts expect that UniFirst Co. will post 7.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th were paid a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.27%.

Insider Transactions at UniFirst

In other news, major shareholder Cecelia Levenstein sold 11,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.73, for a total value of $1,746,030.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 87,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,898,081.34. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, major shareholder Cecelia Levenstein sold 11,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.73, for a total value of $1,746,030.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 87,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,898,081.34. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Michael A. Croatti sold 1,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.00, for a total value of $304,200.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,747 shares in the company, valued at $971,243. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 28,033 shares of company stock valued at $4,398,882. Corporate insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

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.