Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Sells 27,085 Shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board trimmed its holdings in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 66.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,825 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 27,085 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s holdings in Cintas were worth $9,681,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

CTAS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Cintas in a report on Friday, August 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $167.50 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded shares of Cintas from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $181.25 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, July 15th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Cintas from $166.75 to $199.50 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Cintas from $197.50 to $218.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Cintas from $850.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 13th. 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.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $186.30.

Cintas Stock Up 0.4 %

CTAS opened at $204.85 on Wednesday. Cintas Co. has a fifty-two week low of $118.68 and a fifty-two week high of $209.12. The company has a market capitalization of $20.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.15, a P/E/G ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 1.32. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $207.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $183.33.

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. The firm 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.83 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Cintas Co. will post 16.64 EPS for the current year.

Cintas Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. Cintas’s dividend payout ratio is 10.77%.

Cintas declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, July 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to reacquire up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cintas

In other Cintas news, Director Gerald S. Adolph sold 4,400 shares of Cintas stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 125,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,083,425.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 15.10% of the company’s stock.

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.