Public Sector Pension Investment Board Raises Stock Holdings in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its position in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 3.5% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 40,764 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,388 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings in Cintas were worth $28,545,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CTAS. Vantage Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Cintas in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,029,000. Aveo Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cintas by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,143 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $689,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC bought a new position in Cintas in the fourth quarter worth about $782,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its holdings in shares of Cintas by 68.4% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 2,684 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,618,000 after acquiring an additional 1,090 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in shares of Cintas by 70.8% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,030 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $621,000 after purchasing an additional 427 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada cut shares of Cintas from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $181.25 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, July 15th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $193.75 target price (up previously from $187.50) on shares of Cintas in a research note on Friday, July 19th. UBS Group upped their price target on Cintas from $197.50 to $218.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Baird R W downgraded Cintas from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Cintas from $166.75 to $199.50 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Cintas has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $186.30.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cintas news, Director Gerald S. Adolph sold 4,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.43, for a total transaction of $842,292.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 125,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,083,425.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 15.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Cintas Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CTAS opened at $204.16 on Monday. Cintas Co. has a 52-week low of $118.68 and a 52-week high of $209.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.10, a PEG ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a current ratio of 1.74. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $206.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $182.66.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The business services provider reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.05. 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 the consensus estimate of $2.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.83 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Cintas Co. will post 16.64 EPS for the current year.

Cintas Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. Cintas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.77%.

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

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.