Axa S.A. increased its position in shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS - Free Report) by 45.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 168,235 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 52,267 shares during the period. Axa S.A.'s holdings in Cintas were worth $30,737,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Cintas in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $877,216,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Cintas by 137.5% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,222,527 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $457,574,000 after purchasing an additional 1,286,668 shares during the period. Winslow Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cintas in the 4th quarter valued at about $196,057,000. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 841,952 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.46% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of research analysts have issued reports on CTAS shares. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Cintas in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $250.00 target price for the company. Redburn Atlantic downgraded Cintas from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $171.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Cintas from $195.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Cintas from $184.00 to $196.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Cintas from $218.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $213.88.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on CTAS
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, COO Jim Rozakis sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 7th. The stock was 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 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 business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.96, for a total value of $1,780,548.16. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 27,029 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,647,979.84. This trade represents a 23.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 15.00% of the company's stock.
Cintas Stock Performance
NASDAQ:CTAS opened at $211.55 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $85.42 billion, a PE ratio of 51.01, a P/E/G ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 1.20. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $202.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $204.34. Cintas Co. has a 1-year low of $164.93 and a 1-year high of $228.12.
Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS - Get Free Report) last issued 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 company had revenue of $2.61 billion during 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%. Cintas's revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.84 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Cintas Co. will post 4.31 EPS for the current year.
Cintas Dividend Announcement
The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. Cintas's payout ratio is currently 36.11%.
About Cintas
(
Free Report)
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.
See Also
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