UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) Shares Sold by NFJ Investment Group LLC

NFJ Investment Group LLC lessened its stake in shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF - Free Report) by 49.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,567 shares of the textile maker's stock after selling 9,422 shares during the quarter. NFJ Investment Group LLC owned about 0.05% of UniFirst worth $1,900,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP grew its stake in UniFirst by 1,627.3% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 190 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of UniFirst by 60.5% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 183 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of UniFirst by 16.5% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 367 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of UniFirst in the 2nd quarter valued at $92,000. Finally, Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in shares of UniFirst in the third quarter valued at about $109,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.17% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut 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 research note on Thursday, October 24th. One equities 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 stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $186.25.

UniFirst Price Performance

Shares of UNF stock traded down $3.92 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $196.40. 46,683 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 84,128. UniFirst Co. has a 1 year low of $149.58 and a 1 year high of $208.20. The company has a market cap of $3.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.34 and a beta of 0.84. The company's 50 day moving average is $193.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $181.91.

UniFirst Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. This is an increase from UniFirst's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. UniFirst's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP David Martin Katz sold 587 shares of UniFirst stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.08, for a total transaction of $113,337.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,625 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,086,075. The trade was a 9.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder The Ronald D. Croatti Trust - 1 sold 9,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.97, for a total value of $1,814,215.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 17,390 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,320,968.30. The trade was a 35.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 13,294 shares of company stock worth $2,546,632. Corporate insiders own 0.74% of the company's stock.

About UniFirst

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.