Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) Stock Holdings Boosted by Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its position in shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 45,092 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in Cintas were worth $31,576,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Ieq Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Cintas by 6.1% during the second quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 12,276 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,596,000 after acquiring an additional 702 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in shares of Cintas during the second quarter worth about $3,664,000. Sienna Gestion grew its position in shares of Cintas by 12.5% during the second quarter. Sienna Gestion now owns 702 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $491,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP grew its position in Cintas by 28.2% in the 2nd quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP now owns 486 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $340,000 after buying an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its position in Cintas by 18.4% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 11,811 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,257,000 after buying an additional 1,832 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 63.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on CTAS shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cintas from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Cintas in a research report on Friday, August 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $167.50 price objective for the company. Baird R W lowered shares of Cintas from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Cintas from $850.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Cintas to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $186.30.

Insider Activity at Cintas

In other Cintas news, Director Gerald S. Adolph sold 4,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 15.10% of the company’s stock.

Cintas Price Performance

NASDAQ CTAS opened at $203.74 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $206.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $181.97. 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 $20.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 1.32. Cintas Co. has a 52-week low of $118.68 and a 52-week 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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.47 billion. Cintas had a net margin of 16.38% and a return on equity of 37.82%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.83 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Cintas Co. will post 16.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cintas Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. Cintas’s payout ratio is presently 10.77%.

Cintas declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, July 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to purchase up to 1.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors 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.