Insider Selling: UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) VP Sells 587 Shares of Stock

UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) VP David Martin Katz sold 587 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.08, for a total transaction of $113,337.96. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,625 shares in the company, valued at $1,086,075. This represents a 9.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

UniFirst Price Performance

UNF opened at $196.07 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.23 and a beta of 0.82. The business has a 50-day moving average of $191.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $179.49. UniFirst Co. has a 12 month low of $149.58 and a 12 month high of $205.38.

UniFirst Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.71%. This is a boost from UniFirst’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. UniFirst’s payout ratio is presently 16.99%.

Institutional Trading of UniFirst

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC raised its position in shares of UniFirst by 67.7% during the 2nd quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC now owns 6,704 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $1,150,000 after acquiring an additional 2,707 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in UniFirst by 164.2% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 8,387 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,666,000 after buying an additional 5,213 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 3,263 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 51,088 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in UniFirst during the 2nd quarter worth $471,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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