Brown Advisory Inc. Sells 165,182 Shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Brown Advisory Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 10.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,477,001 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 165,182 shares during the quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. owned approximately 0.37% of Cintas worth $269,848,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CTAS. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Cintas by 288.2% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 210,275 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $38,417,000 after purchasing an additional 156,113 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Cintas by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 93,071 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $17,004,000 after buying an additional 3,862 shares in the last quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP lifted its position in shares of Cintas by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 2,458 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $449,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cintas during the 4th quarter worth about $4,964,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Cintas by 26.7% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,228,609 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $407,163,000 after acquiring an additional 468,950 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 63.46% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cintas

In other news, COO Jim Rozakis sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.37, for a total value of $380,740.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 256,528 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,835,235.36. The trade was a 0.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Ronald W. Tysoe sold 8,521 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.96, for a total transaction of $1,780,548.16. Following the sale, the director now owns 27,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,647,979.84. This trade represents a 23.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 15.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on CTAS. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Cintas from $211.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Cintas from $195.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. UBS Group raised their price target on Cintas from $218.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Cintas in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Cintas from $184.00 to $196.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Cintas has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $213.88.

Cintas Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of CTAS stock opened at $211.55 on Friday. Cintas Co. has a one year low of $164.93 and a one year high of $228.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $202.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $204.34. The stock has a market cap of $85.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 1.20.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.60 billion. Cintas had a net margin of 17.23% and a return on equity of 40.62%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.84 EPS. Analysts predict that Cintas Co. will post 4.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Cintas Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Cintas’s dividend payout ratio is 36.11%.

About Cintas

Cintas Corporation engages in the provision of corporate identity uniforms and related business services primarily in the United States, Canada, and Latin America. It operates through Uniform Rental and Facility Services, First Aid and Safety Services, and All Other segments. The company rents and services uniforms and other garments, including flame resistant clothing, mats, mops and shop towels, and other ancillary items; and provides restroom cleaning services and supplies, as well as sells uniforms.