Milestone Asset Management LLC Takes Position in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Milestone Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 1,882 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,318,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CTAS. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cintas during the 4th quarter worth about $388,630,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its position in Cintas by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 13,269 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,997,000 after purchasing an additional 758 shares in the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt grew its position in Cintas by 73.2% in the 4th quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 258 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $155,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its position in shares of Cintas by 19.2% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 92,434 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $55,706,000 after acquiring an additional 14,917 shares during the period. Finally, AIA Group Ltd grew its position in shares of Cintas by 11.2% during the 4th quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 4,441 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,676,000 after acquiring an additional 446 shares during the period. 63.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Cintas news, Director Gerald S. Adolph sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $765.72, for a total value of $842,292.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now 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. 15.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Cintas Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CTAS traded up $8.12 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $772.98. The company had a trading volume of 468,367 shares, compared to its average volume of 373,382. The stock has a market cap of $78.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.82, a PEG ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 1.31. Cintas Co. has a 12 month low of $474.74 and a 12 month high of $773.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.74 and a quick ratio of 1.52. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $729.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $681.46.

Cintas shares are going to split before the market opens on 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The business services provider reported $3.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.80 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.47 billion. Cintas had a return on equity of 37.82% and a net margin of 16.38%. The business’s revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.33 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Cintas Co. will post 16.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Cintas declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan 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 repurchase up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Cintas Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a $1.56 dividend. This represents a $6.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. This is a boost from Cintas’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. Cintas’s payout ratio is presently 43.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on CTAS. Citigroup cut shares of Cintas from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and upped their price target for the company from $530.00 to $570.00 in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Cintas in a report on Friday, August 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $670.00 target price on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Cintas from $700.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $775.00 target price (up from $750.00) on shares of Cintas in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada downgraded shares of Cintas from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $725.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, July 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $742.36.

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.