Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) Shares Purchased by Brevan Howard Capital Management LP

Brevan Howard Capital Management LP raised its position in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS - Free Report) by 27.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 33,509 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 7,236 shares during the period. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP's holdings in Cintas were worth $6,122,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in 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 valued at $1,544,822,000 after purchasing an additional 219,809 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Cintas by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,118,479 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $935,146,000 after purchasing an additional 296,059 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Cintas during the 4th quarter worth about $877,216,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Cintas by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,067,037 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $743,048,000 after acquiring an additional 472,069 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Cintas by 264.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,279,029 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $693,503,000 after acquiring an additional 2,379,932 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.46% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CTAS shares. Bank of America started coverage on Cintas in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $250.00 target price for the company. Argus upgraded shares of Cintas to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Cintas in a report on Thursday, March 27th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Cintas from $218.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Cintas from $184.00 to $196.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a 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 given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $213.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Cintas Price Performance

Cintas stock traded up $1.81 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $215.12. 1,917,196 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,697,516. The firm has a market cap of $86.86 billion, a PE ratio of 51.87, a PEG ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.58. The company's fifty day moving average is $202.57 and its 200-day moving average is $204.40. Cintas Co. has a 52 week low of $164.93 and a 52 week high of $228.12.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.60 billion. Cintas had a net margin of 17.23% and a return on equity of 40.62%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.84 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Cintas Co. will post 4.31 EPS for the current year.

Cintas Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued 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 yield of 0.73%. Cintas's payout ratio is currently 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.