Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Has $230,000 Stock Holdings in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 19.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 329 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 81 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Cintas were worth $230,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. LGT Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cintas by 311.1% in the 2nd quarter. LGT Financial Advisors LLC now owns 37 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. Atwood & Palmer Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Cintas in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cintas in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cintas in the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Cintas by 226.7% in the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 49 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. 63.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Cintas from $197.50 to $218.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $193.75 price target (up from $187.50) on shares of Cintas in a report on Friday, July 19th. Royal Bank of Canada cut shares of Cintas from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $181.25 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Cintas from $143.75 to $156.25 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Citigroup cut shares of Cintas from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and increased their price target for the company from $132.50 to $142.50 in a report on Friday, May 24th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $186.30.

Cintas Stock Performance

NASDAQ CTAS opened at $203.77 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.07, a P/E/G ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 1.32. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $205.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $181.68. Cintas Co. has a 1 year low of $118.68 and a 1 year high of $209.12.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The business services provider reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.05. Cintas had a net margin of 16.38% and a return on equity of 37.82%. The business had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.83 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Cintas Co. will post 16.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cintas Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.77%. Cintas’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.77%.

Cintas declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cintas

In other news, Director Gerald S. Adolph sold 4,400 shares of Cintas stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.43, for a total transaction of $842,292.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 125,808 shares in the company, valued at $24,083,425.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 15.10% of the company’s stock.

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.