Cannell & Spears LLC Sells 395 Shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Cannell & Spears LLC decreased its position in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 20.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,545 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 395 shares during the quarter. Cannell & Spears LLC’s holdings in Cintas were worth $282,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CTAS. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Cintas by 299.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,555,558 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,996,697,000 after purchasing an additional 10,910,285 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Cintas by 309.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,248,271 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,693,654,000 after buying an additional 6,235,052 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Cintas during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $877,216,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Cintas by 264.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,279,029 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $693,503,000 after buying an additional 2,379,932 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Cintas by 137.5% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,222,527 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $457,574,000 after acquiring an additional 1,286,668 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on Cintas from $218.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Cintas in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Cintas from $184.00 to $196.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Cintas from $200.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Cintas from $211.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cintas has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $210.58.

Cintas Price Performance

CTAS stock opened at $207.87 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $201.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $204.61. Cintas Co. has a 52 week low of $162.16 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 1.41.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.60 billion. Cintas had a return on equity of 40.62% and a net margin of 17.23%. Cintas’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.84 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Cintas Co. will post 4.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cintas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Cintas’s payout ratio is 36.11%.

About Cintas

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.