American Century Companies Inc. Boosts Holdings in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) by 25.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 173,315 shares of the textile maker’s stock after buying an additional 35,604 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.93% of UniFirst worth $29,729,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in UNF. Covestor Ltd grew its position in shares of UniFirst by 69.7% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 414 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in UniFirst in the fourth quarter worth about $80,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of UniFirst in the fourth quarter worth about $82,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of UniFirst during the 2nd quarter valued at about $92,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of UniFirst during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $166,000. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at UniFirst

In related news, EVP William Masters Ross sold 225 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.67, for a total value of $40,650.75. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,034 shares in the company, valued at $728,822.78. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP William Masters Ross sold 225 shares of UniFirst stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.67, for a total value of $40,650.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,034 shares in the company, valued at $728,822.78. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP David Martin Katz sold 550 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $96,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,095,325. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,257 shares of company stock valued at $573,613 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of UniFirst from $186.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of UniFirst from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. StockNews.com raised shares of UniFirst from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on UniFirst from $185.00 to $199.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $186.00.

UniFirst Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNF opened at $188.49 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $3.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.52 and a beta of 0.81. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $185.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $171.25. UniFirst Co. has a fifty-two week low of $149.58 and a fifty-two week high of $197.88.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 26th. The textile maker reported $2.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.31. UniFirst had a net margin of 5.44% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The business had revenue of $603.33 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $600.97 million. As a group, research analysts predict that UniFirst Co. will post 7.83 earnings per share for the current year.

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. UniFirst’s payout ratio is 19.27%.

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.