Sanders Morris Harris LLC Has $10.23 Million Stock Position in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Sanders Morris Harris LLC raised its position in shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 300.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 49,692 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 37,269 shares during the period. Cintas makes up approximately 1.7% of Sanders Morris Harris LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Sanders Morris Harris LLC’s holdings in Cintas were worth $10,231,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CTAS. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cintas by 3,302.1% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 501,233 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $103,194,000 after buying an additional 486,500 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cintas by 123.1% in the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 366,044 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $256,326,000 after buying an additional 201,955 shares during the period. Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Cintas during the first quarter worth $84,646,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Cintas by 1.1% during 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 purchasing an additional 112,361 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. MA lifted its stake in Cintas by 124.9% during the first quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 195,506 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $134,318,000 after purchasing an additional 108,582 shares during the last quarter. 63.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Cintas Stock Performance

NASDAQ CTAS opened at $207.90 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $21.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.44, a PEG ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 1.32. Cintas Co. has a twelve month low of $123.65 and a twelve month high of $211.57. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $211.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $186.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 25th. The business services provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.49 billion. Cintas had a return on equity of 37.82% and a net margin of 16.38%. Cintas’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.70 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Cintas Co. will post 4.16 EPS for the current year.

Cintas announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, July 23rd that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to purchase up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Cintas Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.75%. Cintas’s payout ratio is 10.77%.

Insider Activity at Cintas

In other Cintas news, Director Gerald S. Adolph sold 4,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now directly owns 125,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,083,425.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 15.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CTAS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Baird R W cut Cintas from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Cintas from $166.75 to $199.50 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. UBS Group upped their target price on Cintas from $219.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Barclays upped their target price on Cintas from $210.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Cintas from $194.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cintas presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $199.63.

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.