Ballentine Partners LLC Has $447,000 Stock Holdings in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 25.8% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 639 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in Cintas were worth $447,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of CTAS. Vantage Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in Cintas in the 4th quarter valued at $1,029,000. Aveo Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Cintas by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,143 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $689,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Cintas in the fourth quarter valued at about $564,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in Cintas by 100.4% during the 4th quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 467 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $281,000 after buying an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Cintas by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,182 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,315,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. 63.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Cintas Stock Up 1.5 %

Cintas stock opened at $816.42 on Wednesday. Cintas Co. has a fifty-two week low of $474.74 and a fifty-two week high of $817.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.74 and a quick ratio of 1.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.38, a PEG ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 1.32. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $760.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $702.63.

Cintas shares are set to split on Thursday, September 12th. The 4-1 split was announced on Thursday, May 2nd. The newly created shares will be issued to shareholders after the closing bell on Wednesday, September 11th.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The business services provider reported $3.99 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.80 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.47 billion. Cintas had a net margin of 16.38% and a return on equity of 37.82%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.33 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cintas Co. will post 16.64 EPS for the current year.

Cintas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a dividend of $1.56 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $6.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.76%. This is a positive change from Cintas’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. Cintas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.09%.

Cintas declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, July 23rd that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to repurchase up to 1.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CTAS has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cintas from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $775.00 price objective (up previously from $750.00) on shares of Cintas in a report on Friday, July 19th. Citigroup cut Cintas from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $530.00 to $570.00 in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Cintas from $575.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Cintas from $700.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $742.36.

Insider Activity

In other Cintas 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 transaction of $842,292.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 31,452 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,083,425.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 15.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.