Copeland Capital Management LLC Has $62.46 Million Position in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

Copeland Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF - Free Report) by 9.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 365,047 shares of the textile maker's stock after buying an additional 32,860 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC owned about 1.97% of UniFirst worth $62,456,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of UNF. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 60.5% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 183 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Quarry LP grew its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 1,627.3% in 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. Independence Bank of Kentucky purchased a new stake in shares of UniFirst in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in UniFirst by 1,373.7% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 280 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares during the period. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 16.5% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 367 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.17% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at UniFirst

In related news, major shareholder The Ronald D. Croatti Trust - 1 sold 9,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP David Martin Katz sold 587 shares of UniFirst stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.08, for a total value of $113,337.96. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 5,625 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,086,075. The trade was a 9.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 13,294 shares of company stock valued at $2,546,632. Corporate insiders own 0.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on UNF shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of UniFirst from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of UniFirst from $190.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on UniFirst from $199.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $197.50.

UniFirst Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of UNF stock traded down $1.32 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $221.02. The stock had a trading volume of 47,760 shares, compared to its average volume of 190,931. UniFirst Co. has a one year low of $149.58 and a one year high of $243.70. The firm has a market cap of $4.10 billion, a PE ratio of 28.26 and a beta of 0.89. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $200.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $193.47.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The textile maker reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.09. UniFirst had a net margin of 6.00% and a return on equity of 7.40%. The firm had revenue of $604.91 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $606.60 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.26 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that UniFirst Co. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid 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 yield of 0.63%. UniFirst's dividend payout ratio is 17.90%.

About UniFirst

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.