Capital Investment Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Position in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Capital Investment Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 8.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,316 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 216 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Cintas were worth $423,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Cintas by 211.7% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 778,884 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $160,357,000 after purchasing an additional 529,005 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Cintas by 137.5% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,222,527 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $457,574,000 after buying an additional 1,286,668 shares during the last quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI lifted its position in shares of Cintas by 292.7% during the 4th quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 5,482 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,002,000 after buying an additional 4,086 shares during the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc lifted its position in shares of Cintas by 291.7% during the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 22,321 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,595,000 after buying an additional 16,623 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Cintas by 343.9% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 111,599 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $22,976,000 after buying an additional 86,460 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CTAS. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Cintas from $236.00 to $211.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Cintas from $185.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Cintas from $191.00 to $184.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays upped their price target on Cintas from $210.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Cintas from $209.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $198.46.

Cintas Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CTAS opened at $195.70 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.42, a P/E/G ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $206.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $204.87. Cintas Co. has a twelve month low of $146.29 and a twelve month high of $228.12.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $2.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.56 billion. Cintas had a return on equity of 39.56% and a net margin of 16.80%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.61 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Cintas Co. will post 4.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cintas Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. 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.