PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Sells 55 Shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. cut its holdings in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 8,468 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 55 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in UniFirst were worth $1,449,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of UniFirst by 464.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 41,220 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $8,188,000 after purchasing an additional 33,919 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its holdings in UniFirst by 24.7% in the fourth quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 11,519 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $1,974,000 after purchasing an additional 2,281 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in UniFirst in the fourth quarter valued at about $255,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in UniFirst by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 365,047 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $62,456,000 after buying an additional 32,860 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in UniFirst by 74.1% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 740 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $127,000 after buying an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

UniFirst Price Performance

NYSE UNF opened at $204.09 on Friday. UniFirst Co. has a one year low of $149.58 and a one year high of $243.70. The firm has a market cap of $3.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.10 and a beta of 0.89. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $215.25 and its 200-day moving average is $198.42.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The textile maker reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $604.91 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $606.60 million. UniFirst had a net margin of 6.00% and a return on equity of 7.40%. The business’s revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.26 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that UniFirst Co. will post 7.71 EPS for the current year.

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling at UniFirst

In related news, VP David Martin Katz sold 1,299 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.95, for a total transaction of $274,024.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,361,682.25. This trade represents a 16.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNF has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of UniFirst from $190.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. StockNews.com lowered shares of UniFirst from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th.

UniFirst 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.