Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC Sells 33,477 Shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) by 5.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 623,090 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 33,477 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC owned about 3.34% of UniFirst worth $106,879,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in UniFirst in the 4th quarter valued at $28,362,000. M&G Plc bought a new position in UniFirst in the 1st quarter valued at $19,842,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in UniFirst by 8.9% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 622,048 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $106,700,000 after buying an additional 51,088 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in UniFirst by 25.9% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 173,315 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $29,729,000 after buying an additional 35,604 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in UniFirst by 43.9% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 79,625 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $13,658,000 after buying an additional 24,305 shares during the last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP David Martin Katz sold 550 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $96,250.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,259 shares in the company, valued at $1,095,325. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Michael Iandoli sold 682 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.30, for a total transaction of $132,512.60. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,744 shares in the company, valued at $921,759.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP David Martin Katz sold 550 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $96,250.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 6,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,095,325. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,257 shares of company stock worth $573,613 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

UniFirst Trading Down 0.8 %

UNF stock opened at $188.20 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $186.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $171.63. The firm has a market cap of $3.51 billion, a PE ratio of 27.47 and a beta of 0.81. UniFirst Co. has a 1-year low of $149.58 and a 1-year high of $197.88.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The textile maker reported $2.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $603.33 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $600.97 million. UniFirst had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 5.44%. On average, analysts forecast that UniFirst Co. will post 7.83 earnings per share for the current year.

UniFirst Announces Dividend

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

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.