Chartwell Investment Partners LLC Lowers Holdings in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

Chartwell Investment Partners LLC cut its holdings in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF - Free Report) by 9.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 44,883 shares of the textile maker's stock after selling 4,531 shares during the quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC owned about 0.24% of UniFirst worth $8,916,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in UniFirst by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,695,590 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $294,066,000 after acquiring an additional 4,650 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of UniFirst by 3.2% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 737,003 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $126,418,000 after purchasing an additional 23,069 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 8.9% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 622,048 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $106,700,000 after purchasing an additional 51,088 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC grew its position in UniFirst by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 332,187 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $65,989,000 after buying an additional 36,651 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in UniFirst by 25.9% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 173,315 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $29,729,000 after buying an additional 35,604 shares during the period. 78.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNF has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of UniFirst from $199.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com upgraded UniFirst from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, UniFirst has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $186.25.

UniFirst Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE:UNF traded up $3.93 during trading on Monday, hitting $204.66. 24,241 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 85,295. The company has a market cap of $3.81 billion, a PE ratio of 25.83 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $188.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $177.49. UniFirst Co. has a 12-month low of $149.58 and a 12-month high of $205.38.

UniFirst Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This is a positive change from UniFirst's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. UniFirst's dividend payout ratio is 16.99%.

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.