Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) Shares Purchased by Clark Capital Management Group Inc.

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS - Free Report) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 222,513 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,494 shares during the period. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. owned 0.06% of Cintas worth $40,653,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CTAS. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its holdings in Cintas by 23.2% in the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 393,128 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $71,824,000 after acquiring an additional 73,976 shares during the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Cintas by 515.0% in the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 10,362 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,893,000 after acquiring an additional 8,677 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in Cintas by 14.6% in the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 128,275 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $23,436,000 after acquiring an additional 16,357 shares during the last quarter. Centiva Capital LP raised its holdings in Cintas by 79.6% in the 4th quarter. Centiva Capital LP now owns 11,701 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,138,000 after acquiring an additional 5,187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Cintas in the 4th quarter valued at about $229,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.46% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cintas

In other Cintas news, COO Jim Rozakis sold 2,000 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 256,528 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 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 shares were 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 corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CTAS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Cintas in a report on Monday, February 24th. They issued a "sell" rating and a $161.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Cintas from $184.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Cintas from $195.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Cintas from $211.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Cintas in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $213.88.

Cintas Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:CTAS traded up $2.25 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $216.99. 1,913,273 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,702,312. 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 $87.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.32, a P/E/G ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 1.09. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $202.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $204.37. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.84 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Cintas Co. will post 4.31 EPS for the current year.

Cintas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. Cintas's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.11%.

Cintas Company 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.