Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 642 Shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans cut its holdings in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) by 4.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,174 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 642 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned about 0.07% of UniFirst worth $2,260,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in shares of UniFirst by 69.7% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 414 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in UniFirst in the second quarter valued at about $92,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in UniFirst in the first quarter valued at about $166,000. Personal CFO Solutions LLC bought a new position in UniFirst during the fourth quarter worth about $215,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of UniFirst during the 2nd quarter worth about $248,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Activity at UniFirst

In other UniFirst news, Director Michael Iandoli sold 682 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.30, for a total transaction of $132,512.60. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,744 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $921,759.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other UniFirst news, VP David Martin Katz sold 550 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $96,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,259 shares in the company, valued at $1,095,325. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael Iandoli sold 682 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.30, for a total value of $132,512.60. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,744 shares in the company, valued at approximately $921,759.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,457 shares of company stock valued at $269,413. Corporate insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

UniFirst Stock Performance

NYSE:UNF opened at $194.01 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $3.62 billion, a PE ratio of 28.32 and a beta of 0.81. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $187.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $172.75. UniFirst Co. has a 52-week low of $149.58 and a 52-week high of $199.67.

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th were issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date was 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.