Principal Financial Group Inc. Cuts Stock Position in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 70,826 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 3,500 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.38% of UniFirst worth $14,070,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its position in UniFirst by 291.6% in the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 466 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $93,000 after acquiring an additional 347 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of UniFirst by 1.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 349,298 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $69,401,000 after purchasing an additional 4,136 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in UniFirst by 464.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 41,220 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $8,188,000 after acquiring an additional 33,919 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of UniFirst in the third quarter valued at $301,000. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC lifted its holdings in UniFirst by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 8,231 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,635,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares in the last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other UniFirst news, 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 value 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 $3,320,968.30. This represents a 35.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Steven S. Sintros sold 3,207 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.04, for a total transaction of $619,079.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 22,571 shares in the company, valued at $4,357,105.84. The trade was a 12.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 13,294 shares of company stock worth $2,546,632. Corporate insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on UNF shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on UniFirst from $199.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of UniFirst from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $186.25.

UniFirst Trading Down 2.2 %

UNF stock opened at $172.79 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $191.14 and its 200 day moving average is $184.79. The stock has a market cap of $3.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.24 and a beta of 0.84. UniFirst Co. has a 1-year low of $149.58 and a 1-year high of $208.20.

UniFirst Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This is an increase from UniFirst’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. UniFirst’s payout ratio is currently 18.02%.

UniFirst 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.