M&G Investment Management Ltd. Decreases Position in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

M&G Investment Management Ltd. cut its holdings in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF - Free Report) by 5.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 125,822 shares of the textile maker's stock after selling 7,537 shares during the period. M&G Investment Management Ltd. owned about 0.67% of UniFirst worth $23,025,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. River Road Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 848,299 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $155,162,000 after purchasing an additional 4,078 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 678,973 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $124,193,000 after purchasing an additional 21,115 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 446,335 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $81,639,000 after purchasing an additional 21,685 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 204,545 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $37,413,000 after purchasing an additional 1,471 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 203,465 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $37,216,000 after purchasing an additional 7,633 shares during the last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UniFirst Price Performance

UNF stock traded up $0.50 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $166.05. 56,447 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 83,755. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $165.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $169.84. UniFirst Co. has a one year low of $150.50 and a one year high of $187.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.18 and a beta of 0.83.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 27th. The textile maker reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.41 by ($0.19). UniFirst had a return on equity of 6.19% and a net margin of 4.92%. The company had revenue of $590.71 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $587.56 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that UniFirst Co. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. UniFirst's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on UNF shares. Barclays raised their target price on shares of UniFirst from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. StockNews.com cut shares of UniFirst from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of UniFirst from $184.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $177.75.

UniFirst 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.