Boston Trust Walden Corp Lowers Stock Position in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

Boston Trust Walden Corp trimmed its holdings in shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) by 88.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,710 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 124,119 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp’s holdings in UniFirst were worth $2,695,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC raised its position in UniFirst by 78.1% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 171 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 69.7% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 414 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of UniFirst in the fourth quarter valued at about $80,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in UniFirst during the fourth quarter worth about $82,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in UniFirst by 16.7% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 825 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $151,000 after buying an additional 118 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, Director Michael Iandoli sold 682 shares of UniFirst stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.30, for a total value of $132,512.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,744 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $921,759.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Michael Iandoli sold 682 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.30, for a total transaction of $132,512.60. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,744 shares in the company, valued at $921,759.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Cecelia Levenstein sold 5,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.76, for a total value of $856,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 68,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,600,714.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 29,490 shares of company stock valued at $4,668,295. Company insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on UNF shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on UniFirst from $186.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. StockNews.com upgraded UniFirst from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on UniFirst from $185.00 to $199.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on UniFirst from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $186.00.

UniFirst Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNF opened at $184.55 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $174.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $168.76. The stock has a market cap of $3.44 billion, a PE ratio of 26.94 and a beta of 0.81. UniFirst Co. has a one year low of $149.58 and a one year high of $197.88.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 26th. The textile maker reported $2.19 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.31. UniFirst had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 5.44%. The business had revenue of $603.33 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $600.97 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that UniFirst Co. will post 7.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UniFirst Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be given a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.27%.

UniFirst 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.