UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) Shares Acquired by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) by 9.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 189,235 shares of the textile maker’s stock after buying an additional 16,022 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 1.02% of UniFirst worth $32,376,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Independence Bank of Kentucky acquired a new stake in shares of UniFirst during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in UniFirst by 1,105.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 229 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 252.0% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 345 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in shares of UniFirst by 187.2% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 359 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 291.6% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 466 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $93,000 after buying an additional 347 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at UniFirst

In other news, VP David Martin Katz sold 1,299 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.95, for a total value of $274,024.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,455 shares in the company, valued at $1,361,682.25. This trade represents a 16.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of UniFirst from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group dropped their price target on UniFirst from $235.00 to $194.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday.

UniFirst Stock Down 2.4 %

UNF stock opened at $173.77 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.23 billion, a PE ratio of 22.22 and a beta of 0.89. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $210.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $198.59. UniFirst Co. has a fifty-two week low of $149.58 and a fifty-two week high of $243.70.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The textile maker reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $604.91 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $606.60 million. UniFirst had a net margin of 6.00% and a return on equity of 7.40%. UniFirst’s revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.26 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that UniFirst Co. will post 7.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UniFirst Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. UniFirst’s payout ratio is 17.90%.

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.