Motley Fool Asset Management LLC Buys 8,946 Shares of Cintas Corporation $CTAS

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 26.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 42,610 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,946 shares during the period. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Cintas were worth $8,014,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Cintas by 2.5% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 413,665 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $84,909,000 after acquiring an additional 10,249 shares in the last quarter. Prana Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Cintas during the third quarter worth about $14,312,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Cintas by 1.5% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,948,620 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,994,594,000 after acquiring an additional 564,487 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in shares of Cintas during the fourth quarter worth about $15,736,000. Finally, Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. increased its position in shares of Cintas by 2.3% during the third quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 150,809 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $30,955,000 after acquiring an additional 3,397 shares in the last quarter. 63.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Cintas Trading Up 3.6%

Shares of CTAS stock opened at $179.87 on Wednesday. Cintas Corporation has a 52-week low of $161.16 and a 52-week high of $226.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 1.98. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $172.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $184.39. The company has a market capitalization of $71.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.81, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.94.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.82 billion. Cintas had a net margin of 17.57% and a return on equity of 41.47%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.13 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Cintas Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cintas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. Cintas’s payout ratio is presently 50.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CTAS. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Cintas from $222.00 to $190.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Cintas from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Cintas in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $215.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Cintas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Cintas from $181.00 to $160.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Cintas has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $215.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cintas news, Director Ronald W. Tysoe sold 4,666 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.87, for a total value of $834,607.42. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 22,448 shares in the company, valued at $4,015,273.76. The trade was a 17.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 14.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Cintas Profile

Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ: CTAS) is a provider of business services and products focused on workplace appearance, safety and facility maintenance. The company is best known for its uniform rental and corporate apparel programs, which include rental, leasing and direct-purchase options, laundering and garment repair. Cintas markets its services to a wide range of end-users, including manufacturing, food service, healthcare, hospitality, retail and government customers.

Beyond uniforms, Cintas offers a suite of facility services and products designed to help organizations maintain clean, safe and compliant workplaces.