Norden Group LLC Buys 23 Shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Norden Group LLC increased its stake in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 2.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 847 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the quarter. Norden Group LLC’s holdings in Cintas were worth $593,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Cintas during the 4th quarter worth $872,895,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its position in Cintas by 475.7% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 299,378 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $180,423,000 after purchasing an additional 247,378 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Cintas by 123.1% in the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 366,044 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $256,326,000 after purchasing an additional 201,955 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado increased its stake in shares of Cintas by 711.1% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 152,516 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $91,915,000 after purchasing an additional 133,713 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of Cintas by 280.6% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 171,263 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $103,213,000 after buying an additional 126,266 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.46% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada cut shares of Cintas from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $725.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, July 15th. Citigroup cut Cintas from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $530.00 to $570.00 in a report on Friday, May 24th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $775.00 target price (up previously from $750.00) on shares of Cintas in a report on Friday, July 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Cintas to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Cintas from $575.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cintas has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $742.36.

Cintas Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of CTAS opened at $781.90 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $79.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.00, a P/E/G ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 1.32. Cintas Co. has a 1 year low of $474.74 and a 1 year high of $812.01. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $756.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $699.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.74 and a quick ratio of 1.52.

Shares of Cintas are going to split on Thursday, September 12th. The 4-1 split was announced on Thursday, May 2nd. The newly issued shares will be distributed to shareholders after the market closes on Wednesday, September 11th.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The business services provider reported $3.99 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.80 by $0.19. Cintas had a net margin of 16.38% and a return on equity of 37.82%. The company had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.33 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Cintas Co. will post 16.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cintas Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a $1.56 dividend. This is a boost from Cintas’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. This represents a $6.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. Cintas’s payout ratio is 43.09%.

Cintas declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, July 23rd that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to reacquire up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cintas

In other news, Director Gerald S. Adolph sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $765.72, for a total value of $842,292.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 31,452 shares in the company, valued at $24,083,425.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 15.10% of the company’s stock.

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.