National Pension Service Grows Stock Holdings in Cintas Corporation $CTAS

National Pension Service increased its stake in shares of Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 8.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 907,155 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 73,906 shares during the period. National Pension Service’s holdings in Cintas were worth $170,609,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Camelot Portfolios LLC purchased a new stake in Cintas in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Key Capital Management INC purchased a new stake in Cintas in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in Cintas in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in Cintas in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Aventura Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Cintas in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.46% of the company’s stock.

Cintas Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CTAS opened at $171.26 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $172.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $184.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.98 and a quick ratio of 1.74. Cintas Corporation has a 12 month low of $161.16 and a 12 month high of $229.24.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.24. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.82 billion. Cintas had a return on equity of 41.47% and a net margin of 17.57%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.13 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Cintas Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cintas Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. Cintas’s payout ratio is currently 50.85%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ronald W. Tysoe sold 4,666 shares of Cintas stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.87, for a total transaction of $834,607.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 22,448 shares in the company, valued at $4,015,273.76. The trade was a 17.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 14.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird raised Cintas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Cintas from $181.00 to $160.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Cintas in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Weiss Ratings lowered Cintas from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Cintas from $222.00 to $190.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $215.17.

Cintas Company Profile

Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ: CTAS) is a provider of business services and products focused on workplace appearance, safety and facility maintenance. The company is best known for its uniform rental and corporate apparel programs, which include rental, leasing and direct-purchase options, laundering and garment repair. Cintas markets its services to a wide range of end-users, including manufacturing, food service, healthcare, hospitality, retail and government customers.

Beyond uniforms, Cintas offers a suite of facility services and products designed to help organizations maintain clean, safe and compliant workplaces.