Citigroup Inc. Has $4.38 Million Holdings in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF - Free Report) by 81.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 22,031 shares of the textile maker's stock after acquiring an additional 9,918 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of UniFirst worth $4,376,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 8.9% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 622,048 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $106,700,000 after acquiring an additional 51,088 shares during the last quarter. 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 acquiring an additional 36,651 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 25.9% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 173,315 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $29,729,000 after acquiring an additional 35,604 shares during the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC increased its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 305.1% in the 2nd quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 41,936 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $7,193,000 after acquiring an additional 31,583 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new stake in shares of UniFirst in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $5,139,000. 78.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Steven S. Sintros sold 3,207 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,357,105.84. This represents a 12.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,625 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,086,075. This represents a 9.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 13,294 shares of company stock worth $2,546,632 over the last 90 days. 0.74% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on UniFirst from $199.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com downgraded UniFirst from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 28th. One research 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 MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $186.25.

UniFirst Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNF traded up $0.73 on Wednesday, hitting $200.32. The company's stock had a trading volume of 51,882 shares, compared to its average volume of 84,288. UniFirst Co. has a 12 month low of $149.58 and a 12 month high of $208.20. The company has a market capitalization of $3.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.73 and a beta of 0.84. The stock's 50-day moving average is $193.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $181.78.

UniFirst Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. This is a boost from UniFirst's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. UniFirst's dividend payout ratio is presently 16.99%.

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.