Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Buys 31,359 Shares of Cintas Corporation $CTAS

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in shares of Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 166.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 50,225 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 31,359 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Cintas were worth $9,455,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Camelot Portfolios LLC bought a new position in shares of Cintas in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Key Capital Management INC bought a new position in shares of Cintas in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Triumph Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Cintas in the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new position in shares of Cintas in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Aventura Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Cintas in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. 63.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cintas news, Director Ronald W. Tysoe sold 4,666 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.87, for a total transaction of $834,607.42. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 22,448 shares in the company, valued at $4,015,273.76. This trade represents a 17.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 14.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Cintas Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ CTAS opened at $172.20 on Wednesday. Cintas Corporation has a one year low of $161.16 and a one year high of $229.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.98 and a quick ratio of 1.74. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $176.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $185.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.64, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.96.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24. Cintas had a net margin of 17.57% and a return on equity of 41.47%. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.82 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.13 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Cintas Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cintas Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. Cintas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on CTAS shares. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Cintas in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Cintas from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Cintas from $181.00 to $160.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Cintas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on shares of Cintas in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $215.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $215.17.

Cintas Company Profile

Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ: CTAS) is a provider of business services and products focused on workplace appearance, safety and facility maintenance. The company is best known for its uniform rental and corporate apparel programs, which include rental, leasing and direct-purchase options, laundering and garment repair. Cintas markets its services to a wide range of end-users, including manufacturing, food service, healthcare, hospitality, retail and government customers.

Beyond uniforms, Cintas offers a suite of facility services and products designed to help organizations maintain clean, safe and compliant workplaces.