UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) Holdings Trimmed by Nisa Investment Advisors LLC

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) by 5.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 6,619 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 400 shares during the quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in UniFirst were worth $1,211,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNF. Citigroup Inc. grew its position in UniFirst by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 16,104 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $2,967,000 after purchasing an additional 635 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of UniFirst by 52.7% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 7,984 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $1,471,000 after buying an additional 2,755 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in shares of UniFirst by 9.8% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 50,022 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $9,218,000 after buying an additional 4,452 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS boosted its stake in shares of UniFirst by 13.9% during the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 13,111 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $2,416,000 after buying an additional 1,603 shares during the period. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of UniFirst by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 13,967 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $2,574,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP William Masters Ross sold 2,282 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.27, for a total transaction of $399,966.14. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,034 shares in the company, valued at approximately $707,039.18. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

UniFirst Price Performance

UniFirst stock opened at $161.38 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $3.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.41 and a beta of 0.82. UniFirst Co. has a fifty-two week low of $150.50 and a fifty-two week high of $187.22. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $168.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $169.87.

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio is 21.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on UNF. Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 target price on shares of UniFirst in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of UniFirst from $184.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. StockNews.com lowered shares of UniFirst from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 23rd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of UniFirst from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $177.75.

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.