Raymond James Financial Inc. Invests $24.58 Million in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 143,639 shares of the textile maker's stock, valued at approximately $24,576,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.77% of UniFirst at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of UniFirst by 3.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,936 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $385,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 464.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 41,220 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $8,188,000 after purchasing an additional 33,919 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of UniFirst by 1.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 349,298 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $69,401,000 after purchasing an additional 4,136 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of UniFirst by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 8,535 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $1,460,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 24.7% in the fourth quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 11,519 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $1,974,000 after purchasing an additional 2,281 shares during the last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP David Martin Katz sold 1,299 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.95, for a total value of $274,024.05. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 6,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,361,682.25. This represents a 16.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.86% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on UNF. Barclays restated an "underweight" rating and issued a $152.00 price target (down previously from $180.00) on shares of UniFirst in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on UniFirst from $218.00 to $197.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded UniFirst from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of UniFirst from $194.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $180.00.

UniFirst Trading Up 2.9 %

Shares of UNF traded up $5.05 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $177.29. 58,937 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 102,490. The firm has a market cap of $3.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.72 and a beta of 0.88. UniFirst Co. has a 12-month low of $149.58 and a 12-month high of $243.70. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $190.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $195.82.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 2nd. The textile maker reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by ($0.03). UniFirst had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 6.00%. The company had revenue of $602.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $602.81 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.09 earnings per share. UniFirst's revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that UniFirst Co. will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current year.

UniFirst announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, April 8th that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the textile maker to reacquire up to 3.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

UniFirst Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. UniFirst's dividend payout ratio is currently 17.41%.

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.