Empire Life Investments Inc. Decreases Stake in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Empire Life Investments Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 53,218 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 863 shares during the period. Empire Life Investments Inc.’s holdings in Cintas were worth $9,723,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Cintas by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,741 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $318,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. MGB Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Cintas by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. MGB Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,248 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,328,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Cintas by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,803 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $512,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. S.A. Mason LLC increased its stake in shares of Cintas by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 1,703 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $311,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, Simon Quick Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Cintas by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 1,213 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $222,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. 63.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on CTAS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Cintas from $236.00 to $211.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Cintas from $191.00 to $184.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Cintas from $185.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Cintas in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on Cintas from $240.00 to $218.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $198.46.

Cintas Trading Down 0.9 %

Cintas stock opened at $204.22 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $197.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $207.44. Cintas Co. has a 12 month low of $152.77 and a 12 month high of $228.12. The company has a market capitalization of $82.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 1.38.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $2.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.56 billion. Cintas had a return on equity of 40.62% and a net margin of 17.23%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.61 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Cintas Co. will post 4.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cintas Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Cintas’s payout ratio is currently 37.61%.

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.