Gotham Asset Management LLC Increases Stake in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Gotham Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 26.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 37,749 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,009 shares during the quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Cintas were worth $6,897,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Cintas by 26.7% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,228,609 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $407,163,000 after buying an additional 468,950 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Cintas by 28.4% during the 4th quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 6,563 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,199,000 after acquiring an additional 1,450 shares in the last quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Cintas by 121.8% during the 4th quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC now owns 11,545 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,109,000 after acquiring an additional 6,341 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Cintas by 137.5% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,222,527 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $457,574,000 after acquiring an additional 1,286,668 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Annex Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Cintas by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 127,441 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $23,283,000 after acquiring an additional 1,988 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.46% of the company’s stock.

Cintas Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of CTAS stock opened at $215.33 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $203.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $204.52. Cintas Co. has a twelve month low of $164.93 and a twelve month high of $228.12. The company has a market capitalization of $86.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 1.09. 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 (NASDAQ:CTAS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.08. Cintas had a return on equity of 40.62% and a net margin of 17.23%. The company had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.60 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.84 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Cintas Co. will post 4.31 EPS for the current year.

Cintas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Cintas’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CTAS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Argus raised Cintas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Cintas from $200.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Redburn Atlantic lowered Cintas from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $171.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Cintas from $195.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Cintas in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $213.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Cintas 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.