Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Has $4.85 Million Position in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lessened its holdings in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 5.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,052 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 388 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in Cintas were worth $4,845,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cintas by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 349 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cintas by 41.7% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 68 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Winthrop Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cintas by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Winthrop Advisory Group LLC now owns 418 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $287,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cintas by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC now owns 657 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $451,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cintas by 10.1% in the 1st quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $172,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.46% of the company’s stock.

Cintas Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CTAS traded down $5.15 on Friday, hitting $756.76. 485,161 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 420,490. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $713.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $669.48. Cintas Co. has a one year low of $474.74 and a one year high of $773.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a current ratio of 1.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.26, a PEG ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 1.31.

Cintas’s stock is going to split on the morning of Thursday, September 12th. The 4-1 split was announced on Thursday, May 2nd. The newly minted shares will be payable to shareholders after the closing bell on Wednesday, September 11th.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The business services provider reported $3.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.80 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.47 billion. Cintas had a net margin of 16.38% and a return on equity of 37.82%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.33 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Cintas Co. will post 16.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Cintas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid a $1.56 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $6.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. This is a boost from Cintas’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. Cintas’s payout ratio is presently 37.29%.

Cintas announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, July 23rd that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to purchase up to 1.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Cintas from $790.00 to $874.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Cintas from $667.00 to $798.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Baird R W lowered shares of Cintas from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Cintas from $575.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Citigroup lowered shares of Cintas from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $530.00 to $570.00 in a research report on Friday, May 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $749.00.

Insider Activity at Cintas

In related news, Director Gerald S. Adolph sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $765.72, for a total value of $842,292.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 31,452 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,083,425.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Cintas news, Director Gerald S. Adolph sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $765.72, for a total transaction of $842,292.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 31,452 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,083,425.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Ronald W. Tysoe sold 2,291 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $693.95, for a total transaction of $1,589,839.45. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,655 shares in the company, valued at $4,618,237.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,709 shares of company stock valued at $3,346,441 over the last quarter. 15.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Cintas Company Profile

Cintas Corporation provides 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.