Mutual of America Capital Management LLC Lowers Stock Position in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,260 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 217 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC’s holdings in UniFirst were worth $449,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in UNF. Quarry LP boosted its stake in UniFirst by 1,627.3% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 190 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in UniFirst by 60.5% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 183 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in UniFirst during the 2nd quarter valued at $92,000. Eastern Bank bought a new position in shares of UniFirst during the 3rd quarter valued at $109,000. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of UniFirst in the 3rd quarter worth $202,000. Institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

UniFirst Stock Performance

NYSE:UNF opened at $202.84 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $192.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $180.53. UniFirst Co. has a 52-week low of $149.58 and a 52-week high of $208.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.77 billion, a PE ratio of 26.11 and a beta of 0.82.

UniFirst Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This is a boost from UniFirst’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on UNF. Robert W. Baird increased 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 lowered shares of UniFirst from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $186.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at UniFirst

In other UniFirst news, CEO Steven S. Sintros sold 3,207 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was 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 directly owns 22,571 shares in the company, valued at $4,357,105.84. This represents a 12.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP David Martin Katz sold 587 shares of the business’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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,625 shares in the company, valued at $1,086,075. This trade represents a 9.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,294 shares of company stock valued at $2,546,632 over the last 90 days. 0.74% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About UniFirst

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.