UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) VP Sells $113,337.96 in Stock

UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) VP David Martin Katz sold 587 shares of UniFirst stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.08, for a total transaction of $113,337.96. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 5,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,086,075. The trade was a 9.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

UniFirst Price Performance

UNF opened at $196.07 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $191.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $179.49. UniFirst Co. has a 1 year low of $149.58 and a 1 year high of $205.38. The stock has a market cap of $3.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.23 and a beta of 0.82.

UniFirst Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.99%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UniFirst

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quarry LP grew its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 1,627.3% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 190 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 60.5% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 183 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 69.7% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 414 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 16.5% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 367 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UniFirst in the second quarter valued at about $92,000. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on UNF. StockNews.com upgraded shares of UniFirst from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of UniFirst from $199.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.