Bank of New York Mellon Corp Acquires 2,198 Shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 127,700 shares of the textile maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,198 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 0.69% of UniFirst worth $21,848,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cerity Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of UniFirst in the third quarter valued at about $10,270,000. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of UniFirst by 464.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of UniFirst by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 365,047 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $62,456,000 after acquiring an additional 32,860 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in UniFirst by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 654,495 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $130,015,000 after purchasing an additional 32,447 shares during the period. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in UniFirst by 173.9% during the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 47,968 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $9,529,000 after acquiring an additional 30,458 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

UniFirst Stock Performance

NYSE UNF opened at $205.06 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $212.61 and a 200 day moving average of $198.04. The company has a market capitalization of $3.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.22 and a beta of 0.89. UniFirst Co. has a one year low of $149.58 and a one year high of $243.70.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. The textile maker reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.09. UniFirst had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 6.00%. The company had revenue of $604.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $606.60 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.26 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that UniFirst Co. will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UniFirst Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on UNF. StockNews.com cut UniFirst from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group upped their target price on UniFirst from $190.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other UniFirst news, VP David Martin Katz sold 1,299 shares of UniFirst stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.95, for a total value of $274,024.05. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,455 shares in the company, valued at $1,361,682.25. The trade was a 16.75 % 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. 0.86% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.