Barclays PLC Acquires 33,919 Shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

Barclays PLC grew its holdings in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF - Free Report) by 464.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 41,220 shares of the textile maker's stock after purchasing an additional 33,919 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned about 0.22% of UniFirst worth $8,188,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in UNF. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of UniFirst by 67.7% in the second quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC now owns 6,704 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $1,150,000 after buying an additional 2,707 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in UniFirst by 164.2% during the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 8,387 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $1,666,000 after buying an additional 5,213 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd increased its holdings in UniFirst by 255.1% in the 2nd quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 4,542 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $779,000 after buying an additional 3,263 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of UniFirst by 8.9% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 622,048 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $106,700,000 after buying an additional 51,088 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of UniFirst during the 2nd quarter worth about $471,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.17% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of UniFirst from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 28th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on UniFirst from $199.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $186.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other UniFirst news, 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 transaction of $113,337.96. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,625 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,086,075. This represents a 9.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder The Ronald D. Croatti Trust - 1 sold 9,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.97, for a total value of $1,814,215.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 17,390 shares in the company, valued at $3,320,968.30. The trade was a 35.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 13,294 shares of company stock worth $2,546,632 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.86% of the company's stock.

UniFirst Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of UNF stock opened at $186.29 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.98 and a beta of 0.84. UniFirst Co. has a 12-month low of $149.58 and a 12-month high of $208.20. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $193.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $184.01.

UniFirst Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This is an increase from UniFirst's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. UniFirst's payout ratio is presently 18.02%.

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.