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

First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) by 16.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 367 shares of the textile maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in UniFirst were worth $73,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in UniFirst by 8.9% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 622,048 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $106,700,000 after buying an additional 51,088 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC boosted its position in UniFirst by 12.4% during the third quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 332,187 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $65,989,000 after purchasing an additional 36,651 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in UniFirst by 25.9% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 173,315 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $29,729,000 after acquiring an additional 35,604 shares during the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC increased its holdings in UniFirst by 305.1% during the 2nd quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 41,936 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $7,193,000 after acquiring an additional 31,583 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new position in UniFirst during the second quarter worth about $5,139,000. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UniFirst Trading Up 2.1 %

NYSE UNF opened at $200.23 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $3.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.77 and a beta of 0.82. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $191.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $179.99. UniFirst Co. has a 52 week low of $149.58 and a 52 week high of $205.38.

UniFirst Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Steven S. Sintros sold 3,207 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.04, for a total value of $619,079.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,357,105.84. The trade was a 12.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder The Ronald D. Croatti Trust – 1 sold 9,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.97, for a total value of $1,814,215.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 17,390 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,320,968.30. This represents a 35.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 13,294 shares of company stock valued at $2,546,632 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNF has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of UniFirst from $199.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock 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 report on Wednesday, November 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UniFirst currently 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.