Commerce Bank Reduces Stock Holdings in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Commerce Bank lessened its stake in shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 48,491 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 941 shares during the quarter. Commerce Bank’s holdings in Cintas were worth $8,859,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of CTAS. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Cintas during the fourth quarter worth about $877,216,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 2,379,932 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Cintas by 137.5% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,222,527 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $457,574,000 after buying an additional 1,286,668 shares during the period. Winslow Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Cintas in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $196,057,000. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cintas by 340.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,089,535 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $224,312,000 after acquiring an additional 841,952 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.46% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Cintas from $200.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Cintas from $218.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Cintas in a research report on Monday, February 24th. They set a “sell” rating and a $161.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Cintas from $211.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Cintas from $184.00 to $196.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Two investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $213.62.

Cintas Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of Cintas stock opened at $205.76 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $201.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $204.32. The firm has a market cap of $83.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 1.20. Cintas Co. has a fifty-two week low of $162.16 and a fifty-two week high of $228.12. 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 released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.13 EPS 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 business had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.84 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Cintas Co. will post 4.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cintas Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.76%. Cintas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Jim Rozakis sold 2,000 shares of Cintas stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 256,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,835,235.36. This trade represents a 0.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Ronald W. Tysoe sold 8,521 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.96, for a total transaction of $1,780,548.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,647,979.84. This represents a 23.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 15.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.