143,639 Shares in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) Bought by Raymond James Financial Inc.

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 143,639 shares of the textile maker's stock, valued at approximately $24,576,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.77% of UniFirst at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNF. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 464.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 41,220 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $8,188,000 after purchasing an additional 33,919 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 24.7% in the 4th quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 11,519 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $1,974,000 after buying an additional 2,281 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in shares of UniFirst during the 4th quarter worth $255,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of UniFirst by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 365,047 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $62,456,000 after buying an additional 32,860 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 387,326 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $66,268,000 after acquiring an additional 20,056 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.17% of the company's stock.

UniFirst Price Performance

NYSE UNF traded up $0.18 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $173.22. The company's stock had a trading volume of 45,423 shares, compared to its average volume of 102,386. UniFirst Co. has a fifty-two week low of $149.58 and a fifty-two week high of $243.70. The company has a market cap of $3.22 billion, a PE ratio of 22.09 and a beta of 0.88. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $191.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $195.99.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 2nd. The textile maker reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by ($0.03). UniFirst had a net margin of 6.00% and a return on equity of 7.40%. The company had revenue of $602.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $602.81 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.09 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that UniFirst Co. will post 7.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UniFirst Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. UniFirst's dividend payout ratio is currently 17.41%.

UniFirst announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, April 8th that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the textile maker to purchase up to 3.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on UniFirst from $194.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Barclays reiterated an "underweight" rating and issued a $152.00 target price (down from $180.00) on shares of UniFirst in a report on Friday, April 4th. StockNews.com cut shares of UniFirst from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of UniFirst from $218.00 to $197.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $180.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP David Martin Katz sold 1,299 shares of the firm'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 of the company's stock, valued at $1,361,682.25. This trade represents a 16.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.86% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.