UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) Shares Acquired by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF - Free Report) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 72,807 shares of the textile maker's stock after acquiring an additional 1,981 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.39% of UniFirst worth $12,457,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UniFirst during the 3rd quarter worth about $10,270,000. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in UniFirst by 464.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 41,220 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $8,188,000 after purchasing an additional 33,919 shares in the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of UniFirst by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 365,047 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $62,456,000 after buying an additional 32,860 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of UniFirst by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 654,495 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $130,015,000 after buying an additional 32,447 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 173.9% in the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 47,968 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $9,529,000 after buying an additional 30,458 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company's stock.

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Insider Activity at UniFirst

In other UniFirst news, VP David Martin Katz sold 1,299 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.95, for a total transaction of $274,024.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,361,682.25. This represents a 16.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.86% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

UniFirst Price Performance

Shares of UNF stock traded down $2.51 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $212.42. The stock had a trading volume of 32,847 shares, compared to its average volume of 142,755. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.94 billion, a PE ratio of 27.00 and a beta of 0.89. The stock's 50 day moving average is $208.56 and its 200 day moving average is $197.02. UniFirst Co. has a twelve month low of $149.58 and a twelve month high of $243.70.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The textile maker reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $606.60 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.26 EPS. UniFirst's revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that UniFirst Co. will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current year.

UniFirst Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th 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 0.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. UniFirst's dividend payout ratio is currently 17.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. 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 raised their price objective on UniFirst from $190.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th.

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.