Bank of Nova Scotia Acquires 32,514 Shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its holdings in shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 47.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 101,459 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 32,514 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in Cintas were worth $18,537,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Cintas by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,468,080 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,544,822,000 after acquiring an additional 219,809 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Cintas by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,118,479 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $935,146,000 after buying an additional 296,059 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Cintas in the 4th quarter valued at about $877,216,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Cintas by 264.7% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Cintas by 137.5% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,222,527 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $457,574,000 after buying an additional 1,286,668 shares in the last quarter. 63.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Jim Rozakis sold 2,000 shares of Cintas stock in a transaction on Monday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.37, for a total value of $380,740.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 256,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,835,235.36. This trade represents a 0.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 15.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Cintas from $200.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Cintas in a report on Monday, February 24th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $161.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Cintas from $184.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Cintas from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Cintas from $211.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Cintas currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $210.58.

Cintas Stock Performance

CTAS opened at $203.99 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.32 billion, a PE ratio of 49.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 1.20. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $200.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $204.27. Cintas Co. has a 12-month low of $162.16 and a 12-month high of $228.12.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last posted its 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 firm had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.60 billion. Cintas had a net margin of 17.23% and a return on equity of 40.62%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.84 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Cintas Co. will post 4.31 EPS for the current year.

Cintas Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. Cintas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.11%.

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.