WCM Investment Management LLC Trims Stock Position in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

WCM Investment Management LLC cut its stake in shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF - Free Report) by 17.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 108,360 shares of the textile maker's stock after selling 22,538 shares during the quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.58% of UniFirst worth $20,092,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in UniFirst by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,664,757 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $280,062,000 after buying an additional 4,941 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 2.8% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 574,746 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $105,913,000 after acquiring an additional 15,921 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in UniFirst by 0.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 558,531 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $93,962,000 after purchasing an additional 1,591 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in UniFirst by 5.0% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 522,020 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $91,994,000 after purchasing an additional 24,811 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Macquarie Group Ltd. lifted its stake in UniFirst by 0.3% in the first quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 486,886 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $85,804,000 after purchasing an additional 1,540 shares during the last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on UNF shares. Robert W. Baird restated a "neutral" rating and set a $185.00 target price on shares of UniFirst in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Barclays lifted their price objective on UniFirst from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. StockNews.com downgraded UniFirst from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 23rd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on UniFirst from $184.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, UniFirst currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $177.75.

UniFirst Trading Down 0.4 %

UNF stock traded down $0.68 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $161.38. The company's stock had a trading volume of 64,308 shares, compared to its average volume of 95,868. The company has a market cap of $3.02 billion, a PE ratio of 26.41 and a beta of 0.82. UniFirst Co. has a 12 month low of $150.50 and a 12 month high of $187.22. The firm's 50-day moving average is $168.97 and its 200-day moving average is $169.87.

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. UniFirst's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.60%.

Insider Activity at UniFirst

In other UniFirst news, EVP William Masters Ross sold 2,282 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.27, for a total transaction of $399,966.14. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,034 shares in the company, valued at approximately $707,039.18. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.74% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.