JPMorgan Chase & Co. Has $72.96 Million Position in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. trimmed its holdings in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) by 15.0% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 367,270 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 64,759 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in UniFirst were worth $72,958,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 60.5% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 183 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 1,627.3% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 190 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in UniFirst by 16.5% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 367 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its position in UniFirst by 291.6% in the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 466 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $93,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank bought a new position in UniFirst in the 3rd quarter valued at $109,000. 78.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at UniFirst

In other UniFirst news, major shareholder The Ronald D. Croatti Trust – 1 sold 9,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.97, for a total transaction of $1,814,215.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 17,390 shares in the company, valued at $3,320,968.30. This trade represents a 35.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Steven S. Sintros sold 3,207 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.04, for a total value of $619,079.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 22,571 shares in the company, valued at $4,357,105.84. This trade represents a 12.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 13,294 shares of company stock valued at $2,546,632. Company insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNF has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird raised 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. StockNews.com raised UniFirst from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $186.25.

UniFirst Stock Up 0.6 %

UNF stock opened at $171.28 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $189.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $185.38. UniFirst Co. has a twelve month low of $149.58 and a twelve month high of $208.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.18 billion, a PE ratio of 22.04 and a beta of 0.84.

UniFirst Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. This is a boost from UniFirst’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.02%.

About UniFirst

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.