UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) Shares Bought by Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) by 3.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 229,749 shares of the textile maker’s stock after buying an additional 8,587 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 1.23% of UniFirst worth $45,640,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quarry LP boosted its position in UniFirst by 1,627.3% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 190 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 60.5% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 183 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of UniFirst by 16.5% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 367 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in UniFirst in the second quarter worth about $92,000. Finally, Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in shares of UniFirst in the third quarter valued at $109,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

UniFirst Price Performance

UniFirst stock opened at $200.87 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $192.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $181.19. UniFirst Co. has a 52-week low of $149.58 and a 52-week high of $208.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.85 and a beta of 0.82.

UniFirst Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors 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 dividend yield of 0.70%. This is a positive change from UniFirst’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com cut UniFirst from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on UniFirst from $199.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report 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 issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $186.25.

Insider Transactions at UniFirst

In other news, CEO Steven S. Sintros sold 3,207 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.04, for a total transaction of $619,079.28. Following 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder The Ronald D. Croatti Trust – 1 sold 9,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.97, for a total transaction of $1,814,215.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 17,390 shares of the company’s stock, 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. 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 owned by insiders.

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.