Insider Selling: UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) Major Shareholder Sells 9,500 Shares of Stock

UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) major shareholder The Ronald D. Croatti Trust – 1 sold 9,500 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 17,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,320,968.30. This represents a 35.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Large shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

UniFirst Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE:UNF traded up $4.44 on Thursday, reaching $196.07. The company had a trading volume of 75,459 shares, compared to its average volume of 84,578. UniFirst Co. has a 52-week low of $149.58 and a 52-week high of $205.38. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $191.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $179.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.65 billion, a PE ratio of 25.23 and a beta of 0.82.

UniFirst Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This is an increase from UniFirst’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.71%. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.99%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in UniFirst by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,695,590 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $294,066,000 after buying an additional 4,650 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in UniFirst by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 737,003 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $126,418,000 after buying an additional 23,069 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in UniFirst by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 654,495 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $130,015,000 after buying an additional 32,447 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in UniFirst by 1.2% during 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, Copeland Capital Management LLC grew its stake in UniFirst by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 332,187 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $65,989,000 after buying an additional 36,651 shares during the last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on UNF. StockNews.com upgraded UniFirst from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on UniFirst from $199.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.