Van ECK Associates Corp Raises Stock Position in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 7.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,716 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,285 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Cintas were worth $12,406,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Cintas by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,299,288 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,206,969,000 after acquiring an additional 112,361 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Cintas in the fourth quarter valued at $872,895,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Cintas by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 806,369 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $554,000,000 after purchasing an additional 27,470 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Cintas by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 726,515 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $437,842,000 after purchasing an additional 15,444 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Cintas by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 638,038 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $438,402,000 after purchasing an additional 37,727 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Cintas from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 14th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Cintas from $790.00 to $874.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Cintas from $667.00 to $798.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Cintas from $775.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” 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 company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $742.36.

Insider Activity at Cintas

In other Cintas news, Director Gerald S. Adolph sold 1,100 shares of Cintas stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $765.72, for a total transaction of $842,292.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 31,452 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,083,425.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 15.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Cintas Price Performance

CTAS stock opened at $805.12 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $747.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $693.71. 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 $81.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.60, a P/E/G ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 1.31. Cintas Co. has a 1 year low of $474.74 and a 1 year high of $807.98.

Shares of Cintas are scheduled to split before the market opens 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The business services provider reported $3.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.80 by $0.19. Cintas had a net margin of 16.38% and a return on equity of 37.82%. The firm 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 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Cintas Co. will post 16.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cintas Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.56 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $6.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.78%. This is an increase from Cintas’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. Cintas’s payout ratio is presently 43.09%.

Cintas announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.