Man Group plc Buys 45,189 Shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Man Group plc boosted its stake in shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 18.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 292,606 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 45,189 shares during the period. Man Group plc’s holdings in Cintas were worth $53,459,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sound Income Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cintas in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cintas in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Cintas in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Cintas in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors own 63.46% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Cintas

In related news, COO Jim Rozakis sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 7th. The stock was 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. This represents a 0.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Ronald W. Tysoe sold 8,521 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 27,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,647,979.84. The trade was a 23.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 15.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Cintas Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of CTAS stock opened at $214.19 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $203.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $204.58. Cintas Co. has a 52 week low of $164.93 and a 52 week high of $228.12. The stock has a market cap of $86.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.64, a PEG ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 1.09. 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 issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.08. Cintas had a return on equity of 40.62% and a net margin of 17.23%. The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.84 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Cintas Co. will post 4.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cintas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Cintas’s payout ratio is presently 36.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CTAS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Cintas from $195.00 to $213.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded Cintas from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $171.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Argus raised shares of Cintas to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Cintas from $184.00 to $196.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on shares of Cintas in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price objective on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $213.88.

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.