The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Reduces Stock Position in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company trimmed its position in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) by 1.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,140 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 89 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in UniFirst were worth $1,617,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP raised its holdings in UniFirst by 1,627.3% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 190 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of UniFirst by 60.5% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 183 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in 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 last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in UniFirst in the second quarter valued at $92,000. Finally, Eastern Bank purchased a new position in UniFirst during the third quarter worth about $109,000. 78.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at UniFirst

In other news, major shareholder The Ronald D. Croatti Trust – 1 sold 9,500 shares of the company’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 value of $1,814,215.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 17,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,320,968.30. This represents a 35.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Steven S. Sintros sold 3,207 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 22,571 shares in the company, valued at $4,357,105.84. This represents a 12.44 % decrease in their position. 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 0.74% of the company’s stock.

UniFirst Stock Down 0.1 %

UNF opened at $194.48 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $193.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $182.92. UniFirst Co. has a fifty-two week low of $149.58 and a fifty-two week high of $208.20. The firm has a market cap of $3.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.03 and a beta of 0.84.

UniFirst Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This is an increase from UniFirst’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. UniFirst’s payout ratio is currently 18.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on UNF. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of 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 report on Thursday, November 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $186.25.

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.