UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) Major Shareholder The Ronald D. Croatti Trust – 1 Sells 9,500 Shares

UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) major shareholder The Ronald D. Croatti Trust – 1 sold 9,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 17,390 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,320,968.30. The trade was a 35.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Major shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

UniFirst Trading Up 2.3 %

UNF stock traded up $4.44 during trading on Thursday, reaching $196.07. The stock had a trading volume of 75,459 shares, compared to its average volume of 84,578. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $191.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $179.49. The firm has a market cap of $3.65 billion, a PE ratio of 25.23 and a beta of 0.82. UniFirst Co. has a 52 week low of $149.58 and a 52 week high of $205.38.

UniFirst Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a $0.35 dividend. This is a boost from UniFirst’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNF has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised UniFirst from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on UniFirst from $199.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, UniFirst presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $186.25.

Institutional Trading of UniFirst

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quarry LP grew its position in shares of UniFirst by 1,627.3% during the second 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 lifted its stake in shares of UniFirst by 60.5% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 183 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in shares of UniFirst by 69.7% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 414 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of UniFirst by 16.5% in the 3rd 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. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of UniFirst in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $92,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

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.