Intech Investment Management LLC Has $568,000 Holdings in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) by 97.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,860 shares of the textile maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,414 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in UniFirst were worth $568,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of UNF. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of UniFirst by 67.7% in the second quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC now owns 6,704 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $1,150,000 after acquiring an additional 2,707 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in UniFirst by 164.2% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 8,387 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $1,666,000 after purchasing an additional 5,213 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd raised its position in UniFirst by 255.1% in the 2nd quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 4,542 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $779,000 after purchasing an additional 3,263 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in UniFirst by 8.9% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 622,048 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $106,700,000 after purchasing an additional 51,088 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of UniFirst during the second quarter worth $471,000. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on UNF. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of UniFirst from $199.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com lowered shares of UniFirst from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UniFirst presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $186.25.

Insider Activity at UniFirst

In related news, VP David Martin Katz sold 587 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.08, for a total value of $113,337.96. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,086,075. This trade represents a 9.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder The Ronald D. Croatti Trust – 1 sold 9,500 shares of the company’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 transaction of $1,814,215.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 17,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,320,968.30. This represents a 35.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 13,294 shares of company stock worth $2,546,632. Corporate insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

UniFirst Trading Down 1.0 %

UNF opened at $200.87 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $192.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $181.19. UniFirst Co. has a 1-year low of $149.58 and a 1-year high of $208.20. The stock has a market cap of $3.73 billion, a PE ratio of 25.85 and a beta of 0.82.

UniFirst Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This is a boost from UniFirst’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. UniFirst’s payout ratio is presently 18.02%.

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.