UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Lowers Position in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC decreased its position in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,510 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 3,252 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned about 0.15% of UniFirst worth $5,465,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 1,627.3% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 190 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 60.5% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 183 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 16.5% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 367 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UniFirst in the second quarter valued at about $92,000. Finally, Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in shares of UniFirst in the third quarter valued at about $109,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Steven S. Sintros sold 3,207 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.04, for a total value of $619,079.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 22,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,357,105.84. The trade was a 12.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder The Ronald D. Croatti Trust – 1 sold 9,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.97, for a total transaction of $1,814,215.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 17,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,320,968.30. The trade was a 35.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 13,294 shares of company stock worth $2,546,632. Insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on UNF shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of UniFirst from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 28th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of UniFirst from $199.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, UniFirst currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $186.25.

UniFirst Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of UNF opened at $194.48 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.03 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a 50-day moving average of $193.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $182.92. UniFirst Co. has a 12-month low of $149.58 and a 12-month high of $208.20.

UniFirst Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. 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.