Pinebridge Investments L.P. Raises Position in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Pinebridge Investments L.P. lifted its stake in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 64.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 186,129 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 72,626 shares during the quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P.’s holdings in Cintas were worth $34,006,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Cintas in the fourth quarter valued at $877,216,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Cintas by 264.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,279,029 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $693,503,000 after purchasing an additional 2,379,932 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Cintas by 137.5% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,222,527 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $457,574,000 after purchasing an additional 1,286,668 shares during the period. Winslow Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Cintas in the 4th quarter worth about $196,057,000. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Cintas by 340.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,089,535 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $224,312,000 after purchasing an additional 841,952 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 63.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CTAS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Cintas from $195.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Cintas in a research note on Monday, February 24th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $161.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Cintas in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Cintas in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Cintas from $184.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $213.62.

Cintas Trading Up 2.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CTAS opened at $205.84 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $83.12 billion, a PE ratio of 49.63, a P/E/G ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Cintas Co. has a 12-month low of $162.16 and a 12-month high of $228.12. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $201.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $204.30.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.60 billion. Cintas had a return on equity of 40.62% and a net margin of 17.23%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.84 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Cintas Co. will post 4.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cintas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. Cintas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cintas news, COO Jim Rozakis sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.37, for a total value of $380,740.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 256,528 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,835,235.36. This trade represents a 0.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Ronald W. Tysoe sold 8,521 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.96, for a total value of $1,780,548.16. Following the sale, the director now owns 27,029 shares in the company, valued at $5,647,979.84. The trade was a 23.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 15.00% 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.