Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) Shares Sold by Benjamin Edwards Inc.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. cut its position in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS - Free Report) by 12.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 170,928 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 25,215 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s holdings in Cintas were worth $31,228,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CTAS. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Cintas by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,468,080 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,544,822,000 after purchasing an additional 219,809 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Cintas by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,118,479 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $935,146,000 after acquiring an additional 296,059 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Cintas in the 4th quarter valued at $877,216,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Cintas by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,067,037 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $743,048,000 after acquiring an additional 472,069 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Cintas by 264.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,279,029 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $693,503,000 after purchasing an additional 2,379,932 shares during the period. 63.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Jim Rozakis sold 2,000 shares of Cintas stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.37, for a total value of $380,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 256,528 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,835,235.36. This trade represents a 0.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Ronald W. Tysoe sold 8,521 shares of the company'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 sale, the director now owns 27,029 shares in the company, valued at $5,647,979.84. The trade was a 23.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 15.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Cintas Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of CTAS stock traded up $1.75 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $213.57. The company had a trading volume of 1,147,256 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,696,002. Cintas Co. has a fifty-two week low of $164.93 and a fifty-two week high of $228.12. 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's fifty day moving average is $202.41 and its 200 day moving average is $204.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.24 billion, a PE ratio of 51.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 1.09.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.60 billion. Cintas had a return on equity of 40.62% and a net margin of 17.23%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.84 EPS. Research analysts expect that Cintas Co. will post 4.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cintas Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Cintas's payout ratio is currently 36.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on CTAS. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Cintas from $184.00 to $196.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Cintas from $200.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Citigroup began coverage on Cintas in a research report on Monday, February 24th. They set a "sell" rating and a $161.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Cintas in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $250.00 price target for the company. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Cintas from $218.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $213.88.

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.