JPMorgan Chase & Co. Sells 64,759 Shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lessened its stake in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) by 15.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 367,270 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 64,759 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 1.98% of UniFirst worth $72,958,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

UniFirst Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNF opened at $171.28 on Friday. UniFirst Co. has a 1 year low of $149.58 and a 1 year high of $208.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.04 and a beta of 0.84. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $189.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $185.38.

UniFirst Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. This is a boost from UniFirst’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on UNF shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on UniFirst from $199.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock 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 report on Tuesday, December 24th. One research 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, UniFirst has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $186.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Steven S. Sintros sold 3,207 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.04, for a total transaction of $619,079.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,571 shares in the company, valued at $4,357,105.84. This trade represents a 12.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through 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 stock was sold at an average price of $190.97, for a total transaction of $1,814,215.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 17,390 shares in the company, valued at $3,320,968.30. This trade represents a 35.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 13,294 shares of company stock valued at $2,546,632. 0.86% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.