Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Boosts Stake in Cintas Corporation $CTAS

Key Points

• Arrowstreet Capital increased its Cintas stake by 17.4% in the fourth quarter, adding 224,519 shares to reach 1,514,458 shares valued at about $284.8 million.
• Cintas reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $1.24 matching estimates and revenue of $2.84 billion topping expectations, up 8.9% year over year.
• The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, while analysts currently have a consensus Hold rating with a $215.17 target price.

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS - Free Report) by 17.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,514,458 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 224,519 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned 0.38% of Cintas worth $284,824,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. One Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Cintas by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. One Capital Management LLC now owns 6,160 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,159,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Cintas by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 5,058 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $951,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Cintas by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC now owns 1,288 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $242,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. lifted its holdings in Cintas by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 4,381 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $824,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in Cintas by 2.8% during the second quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 2,287 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $510,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.46% of the company's stock.

Cintas Stock Performance

Shares of CTAS opened at $176.28 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $173.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $184.30. Cintas Corporation has a 12 month low of $161.16 and a 12 month high of $226.75. The firm has a market cap of $70.53 billion, a PE ratio of 49.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.94.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.24. Cintas had a return on equity of 41.47% and a net margin of 17.57%.The firm had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.13 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Cintas Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cintas Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. Cintas's dividend payout ratio is presently 50.85%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ronald W. Tysoe sold 4,666 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.87, for a total value of $834,607.42. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 22,448 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,015,273.76. This represents a 17.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 14.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on CTAS. Bank of America began coverage on Cintas in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $215.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird upgraded Cintas from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $250.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Weiss Ratings lowered Cintas from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Cintas in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on Cintas from $181.00 to $160.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $215.17.

About Cintas

Cintas Corporation NASDAQ: CTAS is a provider of business services and products focused on workplace appearance, safety and facility maintenance. The company is best known for its uniform rental and corporate apparel programs, which include rental, leasing and direct-purchase options, laundering and garment repair. Cintas markets its services to a wide range of end-users, including manufacturing, food service, healthcare, hospitality, retail and government customers.

Beyond uniforms, Cintas offers a suite of facility services and products designed to help organizations maintain clean, safe and compliant workplaces.

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