UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) Shares Sold by Corient Private Wealth LLC

Corient Private Wealth LLC lessened its holdings in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,960 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 63 shares during the quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in UniFirst were worth $1,191,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNF. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 148.8% in the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 6,454 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $1,282,000 after buying an additional 3,860 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in UniFirst by 97.8% in the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 2,860 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $568,000 after acquiring an additional 1,414 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 3.9% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 229,749 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $45,640,000 after purchasing an additional 8,587 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. raised its position in shares of UniFirst by 81.9% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 22,031 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $4,376,000 after purchasing an additional 9,918 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of UniFirst in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $10,270,000. Institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNF has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded UniFirst from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of UniFirst from $235.00 to $194.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday.

UniFirst Price Performance

Shares of UniFirst stock opened at $170.11 on Thursday. UniFirst Co. has a 1-year low of $149.58 and a 1-year high of $243.70. The company has a market capitalization of $3.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.75 and a beta of 0.89. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $212.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $198.77.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The textile maker reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $604.91 million during 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%. UniFirst’s revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.26 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that UniFirst Co. will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UniFirst Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. UniFirst’s payout ratio is currently 17.90%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP David Martin Katz sold 1,299 shares of the firm’s 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 owns 6,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,361,682.25. This trade represents a 16.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.86% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.