UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) Shares Acquired by Jane Street Group LLC

Jane Street Group LLC grew its position in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF - Free Report) by 13.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,978 shares of the textile maker's stock after acquiring an additional 2,823 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC owned about 0.13% of UniFirst worth $4,763,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in UniFirst by 3.2% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 737,003 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $126,418,000 after acquiring an additional 23,069 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 32,447 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 36,651 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of UniFirst by 3.9% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 229,749 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $45,640,000 after purchasing an additional 8,587 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of UniFirst by 25.9% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 173,315 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $29,729,000 after purchasing an additional 35,604 shares during the period. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP David Martin Katz sold 587 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.08, for a total value of $113,337.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,625 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,086,075. The trade was a 9.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Steven S. Sintros sold 3,207 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.04, for a total transaction of $619,079.28. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 22,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,357,105.84. This trade represents a 12.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,294 shares of company stock worth $2,546,632 over the last three months. 0.86% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on UNF. StockNews.com lowered shares of UniFirst from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 28th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on UniFirst from $199.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, UniFirst presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $186.25.

UniFirst Price Performance

UNF stock opened at $186.29 on Wednesday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $193.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $184.01. UniFirst Co. has a 12 month low of $149.58 and a 12 month high of $208.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.46 billion, a PE ratio of 23.98 and a beta of 0.84.

UniFirst Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.75%. This is a boost from UniFirst's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. UniFirst's payout ratio is 18.02%.

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.