Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Purchases New Shares in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,448 shares of the textile maker’s stock, valued at approximately $287,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in UniFirst by 0.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,695,590 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $294,066,000 after buying an additional 4,650 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position 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 worth $126,418,000 after acquiring an additional 23,069 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of UniFirst by 8.9% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 622,048 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $106,700,000 after purchasing an additional 51,088 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC boosted its position 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 valued at $65,989,000 after purchasing an additional 36,651 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in UniFirst by 25.9% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 173,315 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $29,729,000 after purchasing an additional 35,604 shares in the last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNF has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of UniFirst from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of UniFirst from $199.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, UniFirst currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $186.25.

UniFirst Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNF opened at $196.02 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $190.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $178.78. The company has a market capitalization of $3.65 billion, a PE ratio of 25.23 and a beta of 0.82. UniFirst Co. has a 1-year low of $149.58 and a 1-year high of $205.38.

UniFirst Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This is a positive change from UniFirst’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.99%.

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.