JPMorgan Chase & Co. Purchases 1,286,668 Shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 137.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,222,527 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,286,668 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 0.55% of Cintas worth $457,574,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in shares of Cintas in the second quarter worth approximately $500,000. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Cintas by 21.2% during the 2nd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,322 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $926,000 after buying an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new stake in shares of Cintas during the 2nd quarter worth $435,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Cintas by 7.8% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 17,716 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,406,000 after acquiring an additional 1,285 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Graypoint LLC increased its stake in Cintas by 21.7% in the second quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 572 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $401,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 63.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Cintas from $236.00 to $211.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Cintas from $209.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Cintas from $191.00 to $184.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of Cintas in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Cintas from $185.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $198.46.

Cintas Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ CTAS opened at $183.37 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $211.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $203.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.95 billion, a PE ratio of 46.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.15 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. Cintas Co. has a 12 month low of $143.64 and a 12 month high of $228.12.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.08. Cintas had a return on equity of 39.56% and a net margin of 16.80%. The business had revenue of $2.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.61 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Cintas Co. will post 4.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Cintas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. Cintas’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.59%.

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.