Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 3,500 Shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF - Free Report) by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 70,826 shares of the textile maker's stock after selling 3,500 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.38% of UniFirst worth $14,070,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of UniFirst from $199.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of UniFirst from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $186.25.

UniFirst Price Performance

Shares of UniFirst stock opened at $196.02 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.23 and a beta of 0.82. UniFirst Co. has a one year low of $149.58 and a one year high of $205.38. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $190.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $178.66.

UniFirst Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This is a positive change from UniFirst's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. UniFirst's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.99%.

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.