State Street Corp Sells 1,581 Shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

State Street Corp reduced its stake in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) by 0.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 585,198 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 1,581 shares during the quarter. State Street Corp owned about 3.14% of UniFirst worth $116,250,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of UNF. Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of UniFirst during the 3rd quarter valued at about $10,270,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in UniFirst by 8.9% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 622,048 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $106,700,000 after acquiring an additional 51,088 shares during the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC raised its stake 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 worth $65,989,000 after acquiring an additional 36,651 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 25.9% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 173,315 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $29,729,000 after acquiring an additional 35,604 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC boosted its stake in shares of UniFirst by 305.1% in the 2nd quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 41,936 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $7,193,000 after purchasing an additional 31,583 shares in the last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at UniFirst

In related news, VP David Martin Katz sold 587 shares of UniFirst stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.08, for a total value of $113,337.96. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 5,625 shares in the company, valued at $1,086,075. The trade was a 9.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder The Ronald D. Croatti Trust – 1 sold 9,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 17,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,320,968.30. This trade represents a 35.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 13,294 shares of company stock worth $2,546,632 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

UniFirst Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of UNF opened at $190.05 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $193.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $183.59. UniFirst Co. has a twelve month low of $149.58 and a twelve month high of $208.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.46 and a beta of 0.84.

UniFirst Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. 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 0.74%. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on UNF. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of UniFirst from $199.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com downgraded UniFirst from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UniFirst has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $186.25.

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.