PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Has $1.45 Million Stock Position in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. reduced its holdings in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,468 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 55 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in UniFirst were worth $1,449,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of UNF. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in UniFirst during the 4th quarter valued at $24,576,000. Atria Investments Inc raised its position in shares of UniFirst by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 7,393 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $1,265,000 after buying an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of UniFirst by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 237,308 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $40,601,000 after buying an additional 7,559 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in UniFirst by 187.2% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 359 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in UniFirst by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 790 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $135,000 after buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UniFirst Price Performance

Shares of UNF stock opened at $204.09 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $215.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $198.42. UniFirst Co. has a one year low of $149.58 and a one year high of $243.70. The firm has a market cap of $3.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.10 and a beta of 0.89.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The textile maker reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.09. The firm 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.26 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that UniFirst Co. will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current year.

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.90%.

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 transaction of $274,024.05. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,361,682.25. This represents a 16.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.