Natixis Advisors LLC Sells 1,507 Shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

Natixis Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 143,410 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 1,507 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC owned 0.77% of UniFirst worth $24,536,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Independence Bank of Kentucky acquired a new stake in UniFirst in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of UniFirst by 1,105.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 229 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of UniFirst by 252.0% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 345 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in UniFirst by 187.2% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 359 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in UniFirst by 16.5% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 367 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

UniFirst Stock Performance

UNF stock opened at $205.17 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.24 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $215.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $198.60. UniFirst Co. has a 52-week low of $149.58 and a 52-week high of $243.70.

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

UniFirst Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on UNF shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of UniFirst from $190.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. StockNews.com cut UniFirst from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.