River Road Asset Management LLC Has $155.16 Million Stock Position in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

River Road Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 848,299 shares of the textile maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,078 shares during the quarter. UniFirst comprises about 2.1% of River Road Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. River Road Asset Management LLC owned about 4.54% of UniFirst worth $155,162,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wealth Alliance purchased a new stake in UniFirst during the 4th quarter valued at about $224,000. Oak Family Advisors LLC raised its stake in UniFirst by 73.7% during the 4th quarter. Oak Family Advisors LLC now owns 2,857 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $523,000 after acquiring an additional 1,212 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in UniFirst during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,390,000. Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its position in shares of UniFirst by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 204,545 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $37,413,000 after buying an additional 1,471 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of UniFirst by 2.3% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,269 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $533,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have 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 research report on Thursday, February 29th. StockNews.com cut shares of UniFirst from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 23rd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of UniFirst from $184.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $185.00 target price on shares of UniFirst in a report on Thursday, January 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $177.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other UniFirst news, EVP William Masters Ross sold 2,282 shares of UniFirst stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.27, for a total transaction of $399,966.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,034 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $707,039.18. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.74% of the stock is owned by insiders.

UniFirst Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of UNF stock traded down $1.13 on Wednesday, reaching $156.16. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 79,126 shares, compared to its average volume of 86,620. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $168.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $169.79. UniFirst Co. has a 1 year low of $150.50 and a 1 year high of $187.22. The company has a market capitalization of $2.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.75 and a beta of 0.82.

UniFirst Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. UniFirst’s payout ratio is 21.60%.

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.