Verition Fund Management LLC Takes Position in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new stake in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,103 shares of the textile maker’s stock, valued at approximately $219,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Quarry LP grew its stake in UniFirst by 1,627.3% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 190 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 60.5% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 183 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of UniFirst during the second quarter worth approximately $92,000. Finally, Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in UniFirst during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $109,000. Institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at UniFirst

In other UniFirst news, VP David Martin Katz sold 587 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.08, for a total transaction of $113,337.96. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,625 shares in the company, valued at $1,086,075. This represents a 9.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder The Ronald D. Croatti Trust – 1 sold 9,500 shares of UniFirst stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.97, for a total value of $1,814,215.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 17,390 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,320,968.30. The trade was a 35.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 13,294 shares of company stock valued at $2,546,632. Company insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

UniFirst Stock Performance

UNF opened at $190.05 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $3.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.46 and a beta of 0.84. The business’s fifty day moving average is $193.27 and its 200-day moving average is $183.59. UniFirst Co. has a 52-week low of $149.58 and a 52-week high of $208.20.

UniFirst Increases Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This is a boost from UniFirst’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. UniFirst’s payout ratio is presently 18.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on UNF. StockNews.com cut UniFirst from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 28th. Robert W. Baird raised 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. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $186.25.

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.