UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) Shares Purchased by First Horizon Advisors Inc.

First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) by 16.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 367 shares of the textile maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in UniFirst were worth $73,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNF. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 67.7% in the 2nd quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC now owns 6,704 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $1,150,000 after buying an additional 2,707 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in UniFirst by 164.2% in the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 8,387 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,666,000 after purchasing an additional 5,213 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd grew its stake in shares of UniFirst by 255.1% during the 2nd quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 4,542 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $779,000 after purchasing an additional 3,263 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of UniFirst by 8.9% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 622,048 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $106,700,000 after purchasing an additional 51,088 shares during the period. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of UniFirst during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $471,000. 78.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on UNF. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on UniFirst from $199.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com raised UniFirst from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $186.25.

Insider Transactions at UniFirst

In other news, CEO Steven S. Sintros sold 3,207 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.04, for a total transaction of $619,079.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,571 shares in the company, valued at $4,357,105.84. This trade represents a 12.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder The Ronald D. Croatti Trust – 1 sold 9,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.97, for a total value of $1,814,215.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 17,390 shares in the company, valued at $3,320,968.30. This represents a 35.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 13,294 shares of company stock worth $2,546,632. 0.74% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

UniFirst Price Performance

UniFirst stock opened at $200.23 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $3.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.77 and a beta of 0.82. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $191.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $179.99. UniFirst Co. has a 1-year low of $149.58 and a 1-year high of $205.38.

UniFirst Increases Dividend

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

UniFirst Company 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.