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

Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF - Free Report) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 127,700 shares of the textile maker's stock after buying an additional 2,198 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 0.69% of UniFirst worth $21,848,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in UniFirst by 5.2% during 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. Copeland Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in UniFirst by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 365,047 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $62,456,000 after buying an additional 32,860 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of UniFirst by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 349,298 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $69,401,000 after buying an additional 4,136 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of UniFirst by 3.9% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 229,749 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $45,640,000 after buying an additional 8,587 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of UniFirst by 19.9% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 144,917 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $28,788,000 after acquiring an additional 24,082 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.17% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNF has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of UniFirst from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of UniFirst from $190.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th.

UniFirst Stock Performance

Shares of UniFirst stock traded down $1.71 on Wednesday, reaching $202.75. 14,970 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 133,219. The company has a market capitalization of $3.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.92 and a beta of 0.89. UniFirst Co. has a 52 week low of $149.58 and a 52 week high of $243.70. The firm's 50-day moving average is $213.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $198.17.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The textile maker reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.09. UniFirst had a net margin of 6.00% and a return on equity of 7.40%. The business had revenue of $604.91 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $606.60 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.26 earnings per share. UniFirst's revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that UniFirst Co. will post 7.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UniFirst Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. UniFirst's dividend payout ratio is 17.90%.

Insider Transactions at UniFirst

In other news, VP David Martin Katz sold 1,299 shares of UniFirst stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.95, for a total transaction of $274,024.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,455 shares in the company, valued at $1,361,682.25. This trade represents a 16.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.86% of the stock is owned by insiders.

UniFirst 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.