Insider Selling: UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) Major Shareholder Sells $856,680.00 in Stock

UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) major shareholder Cecelia Levenstein sold 5,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.76, for a total transaction of $856,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 68,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,600,714.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Large shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

Cecelia Levenstein also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, June 3rd, Cecelia Levenstein sold 11,000 shares of UniFirst stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.73, for a total transaction of $1,746,030.00.

UniFirst Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE UNF opened at $152.50 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $160.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $168.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.96 and a beta of 0.85. UniFirst Co. has a 12-month low of $149.58 and a 12-month high of $187.22.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 27th. The textile maker reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.41 by ($0.19). UniFirst had a net margin of 4.92% and a return on equity of 6.19%. The business had revenue of $590.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $587.56 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that UniFirst Co. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UniFirst Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on UNF shares. 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 report on Thursday, February 29th. UBS Group upped their price objective on UniFirst from $184.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded UniFirst from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $177.75.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 5.2% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 12,330 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $2,139,000 after buying an additional 611 shares during the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd grew its stake in UniFirst by 141.6% during the 1st quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 3,800 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $660,000 after purchasing an additional 2,227 shares during the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of UniFirst in the first quarter valued at about $166,000. MQS Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of UniFirst in the first quarter worth about $302,000. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 5.0% during the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 16,093 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $2,789,000 after purchasing an additional 760 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

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.