Bank of Nova Scotia Sells 64,935 Shares of Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia has reduced its holdings in Cintas Corporation by 64.0%, selling 64,935 shares during the first quarter, leaving them with 36,524 shares valued at approximately $7.5 million.
• Cintas recently reported $1.09 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, and has shown an 8.0% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• The company has announced a dividend increase to $0.45 per share, with a 0.8% yield, reflecting confidence in its financial performance.

Bank of Nova Scotia reduced its position in Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS - Free Report) by 64.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 36,524 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 64,935 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in Cintas were worth $7,507,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in 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 last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in Cintas by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,655,835 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $667,919,000 after acquiring an additional 115,268 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Cintas by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,818,147 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $514,875,000 after acquiring an additional 295,226 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Cintas by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,570,635 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $469,656,000 after acquiring an additional 78,533 shares in the last quarter. 63.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Cintas Price Performance

Cintas stock opened at $225.09 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $90.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $221.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $210.74. Cintas Corporation has a 12-month low of $180.78 and a 12-month high of $229.24. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The business services provider reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.02. Cintas had a net margin of 17.53% and a return on equity of 41.21%. The business had revenue of $2.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.63 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.99 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Cintas Corporation will post 4.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cintas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This is an increase from Cintas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Cintas's payout ratio is 40.82%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cintas news, CEO Todd M. Schneider sold 17,301 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.90, for a total transaction of $3,821,790.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 622,712 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $137,557,080.80. This trade represents a 2.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Ronald W. Tysoe sold 5,084 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.47, for a total transaction of $1,136,121.48. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 21,945 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,904,049.15. This trade represents a 18.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 15.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on CTAS. UBS Group raised their price target on Cintas from $240.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Argus raised Cintas to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Cintas from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $196.00 to $221.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Redburn Atlantic cut 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, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Cintas in a research note on Monday, July 14th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $239.00 price objective for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $224.54.

About Cintas

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.

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