UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) Major Shareholder Sells $1,814,215.00 in Stock

UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) major shareholder The Ronald D. Croatti Trust – 1 sold 9,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 17,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,320,968.30. The trade was a 35.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Major shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s stock are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

UniFirst Trading Up 2.1 %

UniFirst stock opened at $200.23 on Friday. UniFirst Co. has a 1-year low of $149.58 and a 1-year high of $205.38. The firm has a market cap of $3.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.77 and a beta of 0.82. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $191.32 and a 200-day moving average of $179.88.

UniFirst Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This is a boost from UniFirst’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. UniFirst’s payout ratio is 18.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of UniFirst from $199.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com upgraded UniFirst from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, UniFirst currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $186.25.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UniFirst

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in UNF. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its holdings in UniFirst by 291.6% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in UniFirst by 1.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 349,298 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $69,401,000 after buying an additional 4,136 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its position in UniFirst by 464.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 41,220 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $8,188,000 after acquiring an additional 33,919 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of UniFirst during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $301,000. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC raised its position in shares of UniFirst by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 8,231 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,635,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

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.