Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) Shares Purchased by Ethic Inc.

Ethic Inc. lifted its position in shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 465.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 64,291 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 52,929 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Cintas were worth $11,746,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Cintas in the 4th quarter valued at about $877,216,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Cintas by 137.5% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,222,527 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $457,574,000 after purchasing an additional 1,286,668 shares during the period. Winslow Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Cintas during the fourth quarter worth approximately $196,057,000. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Cintas by 340.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,089,535 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $224,312,000 after buying an additional 841,952 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Cintas by 2,729.5% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 617,285 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $112,778,000 after acquiring an additional 595,469 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on CTAS. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Cintas from $200.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Cintas from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Cintas in a research report on Monday, February 24th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $161.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Cintas from $184.00 to $196.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Cintas from $195.00 to $213.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cintas presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $213.88.

Cintas Trading Down 0.1 %

NASDAQ CTAS opened at $214.96 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $202.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $204.42. The company has a market capitalization of $86.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 1.09. Cintas Co. has a 12 month low of $164.93 and a 12 month 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.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Cintas had a return on equity of 40.62% and a net margin of 17.23%. The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.84 earnings per share. Cintas’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Cintas Co. will post 4.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cintas Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cintas news, COO Jim Rozakis sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.37, for a total value of $380,740.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Ronald W. Tysoe sold 8,521 shares of Cintas stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.96, for a total value of $1,780,548.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 27,029 shares of the company’s stock, 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 corporate insiders.

Cintas 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.