WCM Investment Management LLC Cuts Holdings in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

WCM Investment Management LLC decreased its position in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) by 38.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 68,215 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 42,431 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC’s holdings in UniFirst were worth $11,665,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of UniFirst by 5.2% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 654,495 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $130,015,000 after acquiring an additional 32,447 shares during the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC grew its stake in UniFirst by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 365,047 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $62,456,000 after purchasing an additional 32,860 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of UniFirst by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 349,298 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $69,401,000 after purchasing an additional 4,136 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of UniFirst by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 229,749 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $45,640,000 after purchasing an additional 8,587 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 19.9% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 144,917 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $28,788,000 after buying an additional 24,082 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

UniFirst Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:UNF opened at $219.14 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.07 billion, a PE ratio of 28.02 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $201.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $194.19. UniFirst Co. has a twelve month low of $149.58 and a twelve month high of $243.70.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. The textile maker reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.09. UniFirst had a net margin of 6.00% and a return on equity of 7.40%. The company had revenue of $604.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $606.60 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.26 EPS. UniFirst’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that UniFirst Co. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. UniFirst’s payout ratio is 17.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 transaction of $1,814,215.00. Following the sale, the insider now 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP David Martin Katz sold 587 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.08, for a total transaction of $113,337.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,086,075. The trade was a 9.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 13,294 shares of company stock valued at $2,546,632. Corporate insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of UniFirst from $190.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. StockNews.com lowered shares of UniFirst from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on UniFirst from $199.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. 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 company. According to MarketBeat, UniFirst presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $197.50.

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.