Kane Investment Management Inc. Acquires New Position in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Kane Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 22,964 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,196,000. Cintas accounts for about 2.3% of Kane Investment Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 219,809 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Cintas by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,118,479 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $935,146,000 after acquiring an additional 296,059 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Cintas during the fourth quarter worth $877,216,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Cintas by 264.7% in 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 purchasing an additional 2,379,932 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 1,286,668 shares during the last quarter. 63.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on CTAS shares. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Cintas from $200.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of Cintas in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Cintas from $211.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Cintas from $195.00 to $213.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on Cintas in a research report on Monday, February 24th. They set a “sell” rating and a $161.00 price target for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $213.62.

Insider Activity at Cintas

In other news, COO Jim Rozakis sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 15.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Cintas Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CTAS opened at $209.62 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The company has a market cap of $84.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 1.20. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $201.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $204.28. Cintas Co. has a 1-year low of $162.16 and a 1-year high of $228.12.

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

Cintas Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. Cintas’s payout ratio is currently 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.