UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) Shares Acquired by Salem Investment Counselors Inc.

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. grew its stake in shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF - Free Report) by 24.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,519 shares of the textile maker's stock after acquiring an additional 2,281 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. owned about 0.06% of UniFirst worth $1,974,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new position in UniFirst in the third quarter worth about $10,270,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC grew its position 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 worth $65,989,000 after acquiring an additional 36,651 shares in 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. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of UniFirst by 464.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 41,220 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $8,188,000 after acquiring an additional 33,919 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised 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 valued at $130,015,000 after acquiring an additional 32,447 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.17% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on UNF shares. 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 boosted their price objective on shares of UniFirst from $190.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of UniFirst from $199.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, UniFirst has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $197.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at UniFirst

In related news, major shareholder The Ronald D. Croatti Trust - 1 sold 9,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.97, for a total transaction of $1,814,215.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 17,390 shares in the company, valued at $3,320,968.30. This trade represents a 35.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Steven S. Sintros sold 3,207 shares of the company'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 value of $619,079.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 22,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,357,105.84. This trade represents a 12.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,294 shares of company stock valued at $2,546,632 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.86% of the company's stock.

UniFirst Stock Performance

Shares of UNF traded down $1.46 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $225.07. 143,839 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 336,080. UniFirst Co. has a 1-year low of $149.58 and a 1-year high of $243.70. The business's 50 day moving average price is $192.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $187.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.18 billion, a PE ratio of 28.97 and a beta of 0.87.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The textile maker reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.09. UniFirst had a net margin of 5.99% and a return on equity of 7.47%. The firm had revenue of $604.91 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $606.60 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.26 EPS. UniFirst's revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that UniFirst Co. will post 7.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UniFirst Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.62%. UniFirst's dividend payout ratio is currently 17.90%.

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.