Insider Selling: UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) VP Sells $113,337.96 in Stock

UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) VP David Martin Katz sold 587 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.08, for a total value of $113,337.96. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 5,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,086,075. This trade represents a 9.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

UniFirst Stock Performance

UniFirst stock opened at $200.23 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $3.72 billion, a PE ratio of 25.77 and a beta of 0.82. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $191.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $179.99. UniFirst Co. has a one year low of $149.58 and a one year high of $205.38.

UniFirst Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a $0.35 dividend. This is a positive change from UniFirst’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNF has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of UniFirst from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of UniFirst from $199.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, UniFirst presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $186.25.

Institutional Trading of UniFirst

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of UNF. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 0.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,695,590 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $294,066,000 after buying an additional 4,650 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of UniFirst by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 737,003 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $126,418,000 after acquiring an additional 23,069 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in UniFirst by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 654,495 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $130,015,000 after acquiring an additional 32,447 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in UniFirst by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 349,298 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $69,401,000 after acquiring an additional 4,136 shares during the period. Finally, Copeland Capital Management LLC grew its stake in UniFirst by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 332,187 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $65,989,000 after purchasing an additional 36,651 shares during the last quarter. 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.