Aveo Capital Partners LLC Cuts Stake in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Aveo Capital Partners LLC lessened its holdings in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 14.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,023 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 175 shares during the period. Aveo Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Cintas were worth $716,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in Cintas by 0.9% in the second quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 1,651 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,156,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Field & Main Bank boosted its stake in shares of Cintas by 25.0% in the 2nd quarter. Field & Main Bank now owns 75 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. Drive Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cintas by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 448 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $314,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the period. TIAA Trust National Association grew its position in shares of Cintas by 1.2% during the second quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 1,363 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $954,000 after buying an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital CS Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Cintas by 1.9% during the second quarter. Capital CS Group LLC now owns 920 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $644,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on CTAS shares. Citigroup cut shares of Cintas from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $530.00 to $570.00 in a report on Friday, May 24th. Baird R W downgraded shares of Cintas from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Royal Bank of Canada cut Cintas from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $725.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, July 15th. StockNews.com raised Cintas from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $775.00 target price (up previously from $750.00) on shares of Cintas in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cintas presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $742.36.

Insider Activity

In other Cintas news, Director Gerald S. Adolph sold 1,100 shares of Cintas 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 31,452 shares in the company, valued at $24,083,425.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 15.10% of the company’s stock.

Cintas Trading Up 0.7 %

NASDAQ CTAS opened at $804.78 on Thursday. Cintas Co. has a 52-week low of $474.74 and a 52-week high of $812.01. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $752.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $697.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.58, a P/E/G ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Cintas shares are scheduled to split on Thursday, September 12th. The 4-1 split was announced on Thursday, May 2nd. The newly created shares will be payable to shareholders after the closing bell on Wednesday, September 11th.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The business services provider reported $3.99 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.80 by $0.19. Cintas had a net margin of 16.38% and a return on equity of 37.82%. The firm had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.33 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Cintas Co. will post 16.64 EPS for the current year.

Cintas Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a $1.56 dividend. This is a positive change from Cintas’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $6.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. Cintas’s dividend payout ratio is 43.09%.

Cintas announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, July 23rd that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to purchase up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Cintas Company 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.