UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) Shares Sold by WCM Investment Management LLC

WCM Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF - Free Report) by 38.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 68,215 shares of the textile maker's stock after selling 42,431 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC owned about 0.37% of UniFirst worth $11,665,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised 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 buying an additional 32,447 shares in the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of UniFirst by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 365,047 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $62,456,000 after buying an additional 32,860 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of UniFirst by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 349,298 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $69,401,000 after buying an additional 4,136 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of UniFirst by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 229,749 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $45,640,000 after buying an additional 8,587 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in UniFirst by 19.9% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 144,917 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $28,788,000 after purchasing an additional 24,082 shares in the last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at UniFirst

In other news, VP David Martin Katz sold 587 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the vice president now owns 5,625 shares in the company, valued at $1,086,075. This trade represents a 9.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder The Ronald D. Croatti Trust - 1 sold 9,500 shares of the firm'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 $3,320,968.30. This trade represents a 35.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 13,294 shares of company stock worth $2,546,632. 0.86% of the stock is owned by insiders.

UniFirst Price Performance

NYSE:UNF traded down $0.15 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $216.35. 89,029 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 167,325. The firm's 50-day moving average is $203.38 and its 200-day moving average is $194.90. The stock has a market cap of $4.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.67 and a beta of 0.89. UniFirst Co. has a 1-year low of $149.58 and a 1-year high of $243.70.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The textile maker reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $604.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $606.60 million. UniFirst had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 6.00%. UniFirst's quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.26 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that UniFirst Co. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

UniFirst Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. UniFirst's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNF has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on UniFirst from $199.00 to $200.00 and gave the company 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 Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on UniFirst from $190.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $197.50.

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.