UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) Shares Sold by FIL Ltd

FIL Ltd lessened its position in shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF - Free Report) by 74.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,386 shares of the textile maker's stock after selling 9,689 shares during the period. FIL Ltd's holdings in UniFirst were worth $579,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in UniFirst by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,708,242 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $292,263,000 after buying an additional 6,393 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in UniFirst by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 387,326 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $66,268,000 after purchasing an additional 20,056 shares during the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of UniFirst by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 365,047 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $62,456,000 after purchasing an additional 32,860 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in UniFirst by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 349,298 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $69,401,000 after buying an additional 4,136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in UniFirst by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 237,308 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $40,601,000 after buying an additional 7,559 shares in the last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other UniFirst news, VP David Martin Katz sold 1,299 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.95, for a total transaction of $274,024.05. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,361,682.25. This trade represents a 16.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.86% of the company's stock.

UniFirst Trading Down 0.8 %

UNF traded down $1.45 during trading on Friday, hitting $171.96. 89,439 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 102,751. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $193.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $196.51. UniFirst Co. has a 12-month low of $149.58 and a 12-month high of $243.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.99 and a beta of 0.88.

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

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

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. UniFirst's payout ratio is 17.41%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.