Ewing Morris & Co. Investment Partners Ltd. Makes New $2.07 Million Investment in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Ewing Morris & Co. Investment Partners Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 11,324 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,069,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Cintas in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC bought a new stake in Cintas in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in Cintas during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Cintas by 136.8% in the fourth quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 180 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Cintas in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 63.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CTAS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Cintas in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Argus raised Cintas to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Cintas in a report on Monday, February 24th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $161.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Cintas from $211.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Cintas from $200.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $213.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Jim Rozakis sold 2,000 shares of Cintas stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.37, for a total transaction of $380,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 256,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,835,235.36. The trade was a 0.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Ronald W. Tysoe sold 8,521 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.96, for a total value of $1,780,548.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,029 shares in the company, valued at $5,647,979.84. This trade represents a 23.97 % 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 Stock Performance

Shares of CTAS stock opened at $214.96 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.80 billion, a PE ratio of 51.83, a P/E/G ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $202.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $204.42. Cintas Co. has a 52 week low of $164.93 and a 52 week high of $228.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.58 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.60 billion. Cintas had a net margin of 17.23% and a return on equity of 40.62%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.84 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Cintas Co. will post 4.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Cintas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Cintas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.11%.

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.