Cerity Partners LLC Takes $10.27 Million Position in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

Cerity Partners LLC bought a new position in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 51,698 shares of the textile maker's stock, valued at approximately $10,270,000. Cerity Partners LLC owned approximately 0.28% of UniFirst at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Quarry LP boosted its stake in UniFirst by 1,627.3% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 190 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in UniFirst by 60.5% in the third 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. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in UniFirst by 16.5% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 367 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of UniFirst during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $92,000. Finally, Eastern Bank bought a new position in shares of UniFirst in the third quarter valued at about $109,000. Institutional investors own 78.17% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on UniFirst from $199.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of UniFirst from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UniFirst currently has an average 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 firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $1,086,075. This trade represents a 9.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder The Ronald D. Croatti Trust - 1 sold 9,500 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 17,390 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,320,968.30. This trade represents a 35.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 13,294 shares of company stock worth $2,546,632. Corporate insiders own 0.74% of the company's stock.

UniFirst Price Performance

UNF stock traded down $3.38 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $202.84. The company had a trading volume of 49,086 shares, compared to its average volume of 84,296. UniFirst Co. has a 1-year low of $149.58 and a 1-year high of $208.20. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $192.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $180.53. The company has a market capitalization of $3.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.40 and a beta of 0.82.

UniFirst Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This is an increase from UniFirst's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. UniFirst's dividend payout ratio is 16.99%.

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.