Cintas Corporation $CTAS Shares Acquired by Merit Financial Group LLC

Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 11.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,472 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,459 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Cintas were worth $3,225,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cintas in the first quarter valued at about $270,000. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Cintas by 3.8% in the first quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 60,099 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,327,000 after purchasing an additional 2,191 shares in the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Cintas by 51.9% in the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 9,967 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,049,000 after purchasing an additional 3,404 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of Cintas by 25.5% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 791,197 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $162,615,000 after purchasing an additional 160,820 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of Cintas by 1.0% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 605,222 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $124,391,000 after purchasing an additional 5,784 shares in the last quarter. 63.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cintas news, CEO Todd M. Schneider sold 17,301 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.90, for a total transaction of $3,821,790.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 622,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $137,557,080.80. This trade represents a 2.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ronald W. Tysoe sold 5,084 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.47, for a total transaction of $1,136,121.48. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 21,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,904,049.15. The trade was a 18.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 14.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on CTAS shares. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Cintas from $227.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Cintas from $246.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Cintas from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Cintas from $172.00 to $176.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Cintas from $221.00 to $218.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $222.09.

Cintas Stock Performance

Shares of CTAS opened at $199.17 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 2.24. The company has a market capitalization of $80.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.16, a PEG ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 1.01. Cintas Corporation has a 1 year low of $180.78 and a 1 year high of $229.24. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $210.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $213.19.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 24th. The business services provider reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.70 billion. Cintas had a net margin of 17.54% and a return on equity of 40.41%. Cintas’s revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.10 earnings per share. Cintas has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.740-4.86 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Cintas Corporation will post 4.31 EPS for the current year.

Cintas Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This is an increase from Cintas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. Cintas’s payout ratio is 40.82%.

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.