KBC Group NV Increases Stock Holdings in Cintas Corporation $CTAS

KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 101.4% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 590,491 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 297,265 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Cintas were worth $131,603,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CTAS. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cintas during the first quarter worth about $1,877,760,000. Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Cintas by 516.8% in the 1st quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 854,032 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $175,529,000 after purchasing an additional 715,570 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its position in Cintas by 90.1% during the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,214,098 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $270,586,000 after purchasing an additional 575,372 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its stake in Cintas by 169.7% during the 1st quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 910,985 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $187,235,000 after purchasing an additional 573,151 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Cintas by 1.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,859,304 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,781,223,000 after buying an additional 491,307 shares during the last quarter. 63.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Cintas from $240.00 to $206.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Redburn Partners set a $184.00 price target on Cintas in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Cintas in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised Cintas from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $184.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Cintas from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cintas presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $216.23.

Cintas Price Performance

NASDAQ:CTAS opened at $185.76 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Cintas Corporation has a 52 week low of $180.39 and a 52 week high of $229.24. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $195.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $210.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.65 billion, a PE ratio of 42.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.99.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 24th. The business services provider reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.70 billion. Cintas had a return on equity of 40.41% and a net margin of 17.54%.Cintas’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.10 earnings per share. Cintas has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.740-4.86 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Cintas Corporation will post 4.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cintas declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, October 28th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to repurchase up to 1.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Cintas Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Cintas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.82%.

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.