EHP Funds Inc. Has $438,000 Stake in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

EHP Funds Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 7.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,400 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. EHP Funds Inc.’s holdings in Cintas were worth $438,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Cintas by 340.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,089,535 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $224,312,000 after buying an additional 841,952 shares in the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Cintas by 256.9% in the 3rd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,952 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $401,000 after purchasing an additional 1,405 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Cintas by 301.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 503,522 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $103,665,000 after purchasing an additional 378,101 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Cintas by 137.5% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,222,527 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $457,574,000 after buying an additional 1,286,668 shares during the period. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its stake in Cintas by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 15,465 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,825,000 after buying an additional 1,572 shares in the last quarter. 63.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Cintas

In related news, COO Jim Rozakis sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.37, for a total value of $380,740.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 256,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,835,235.36. This trade represents a 0.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Ronald W. Tysoe sold 8,521 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.96, for a total transaction of $1,780,548.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 27,029 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,647,979.84. The trade was a 23.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 15.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CTAS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Redburn Atlantic cut Cintas from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $171.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Cintas in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price objective for the company. Argus raised Cintas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Cintas from $184.00 to $196.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Cintas in a report on Monday, February 24th. They set a “sell” rating and a $161.00 target price on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $213.88.

Cintas Trading Up 0.8 %

CTAS stock opened at $213.57 on Wednesday. Cintas Co. has a 52 week low of $164.93 and a 52 week high of $228.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.58. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $202.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $204.32. The company has a market capitalization of $86.24 billion, a PE ratio of 51.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 1.09.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.60 billion. Cintas had a return on equity of 40.62% and a net margin of 17.23%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.84 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cintas Co. will post 4.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Cintas Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Cintas’s payout ratio is presently 36.11%.

Cintas Company Profile

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.