UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) VP Sells $96,250.00 in Stock

UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) VP David Martin Katz sold 550 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $96,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,095,325. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

UniFirst Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE UNF traded up $2.35 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $184.88. The company had a trading volume of 129,903 shares, compared to its average volume of 89,115. UniFirst Co. has a one year low of $149.58 and a one year high of $187.22. The company has a market capitalization of $3.44 billion, a PE ratio of 26.65 and a beta of 0.81. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $162.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $165.97.

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. UniFirst’s payout ratio is currently 19.27%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UniFirst

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in UniFirst by 336.5% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 18,582 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $3,223,000 after acquiring an additional 14,325 shares during the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UniFirst in the first quarter valued at approximately $693,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of UniFirst by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 825 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $151,000 after buying an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of UniFirst by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 848,299 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $155,162,000 after buying an additional 4,078 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of UniFirst by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 446,335 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $81,639,000 after buying an additional 21,685 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on UniFirst from $185.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. UBS Group lifted their price target on UniFirst from $186.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on UniFirst from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, StockNews.com cut UniFirst from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UniFirst has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $186.00.

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.