UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) CEO Steven S. Sintros Sells 3,207 Shares

UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) CEO Steven S. Sintros sold 3,207 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.04, for a total value of $619,079.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 22,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,357,105.84. This represents a 12.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

UniFirst Stock Up 2.1 %

NYSE UNF opened at $200.23 on Friday. UniFirst Co. has a 52 week low of $149.58 and a 52 week high of $205.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.77 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a fifty day moving average of $191.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $179.88.

UniFirst Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. This is an increase from UniFirst’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.02%.

Institutional Trading of UniFirst

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNF. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of UniFirst by 16.5% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 367 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in UniFirst by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,936 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $385,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. 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 valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in UniFirst by 1.9% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 4,231 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $726,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Finally, Pullen Investment Management LLC increased its stake in UniFirst by 2.9% in the second quarter. Pullen Investment Management LLC now owns 2,806 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $481,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on UNF. StockNews.com upgraded shares of UniFirst from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of UniFirst from $199.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, UniFirst currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $186.25.

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.