Blue Trust Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS - Free Report) by 160.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,603 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,603 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.'s holdings in Cintas were worth $535,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CTAS. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Cintas in the fourth quarter valued at $877,216,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Cintas by 19,644.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,263,091 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $465,133,000 after acquiring an additional 2,251,629 shares in the last quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cintas in the fourth quarter valued at $196,057,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Cintas in the fourth quarter valued at $96,282,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Cintas by 13.1% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. 63.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cintas Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CTAS opened at $218.65 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $217.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $205.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $88.29 billion, a PE ratio of 50.64, a P/E/G ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.72 and a quick ratio of 1.50. Cintas Corporation has a 12 month low of $172.20 and a 12 month high of $229.24.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.60 billion. Cintas had a return on equity of 41.30% and a net margin of 17.53%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.84 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Cintas Corporation will post 4.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Cintas Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.71%. Cintas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.11%.

Insider Transactions at Cintas

In other news, COO Jim Rozakis sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $48,835,235.36. This trade represents a 0.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ronald W. Tysoe sold 8,521 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.96, for a total value of $1,780,548.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 27,029 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,647,979.84. This trade represents a 23.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 15.00% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CTAS. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Cintas from $200.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Cintas from $218.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Cintas from $195.00 to $213.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Cintas from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Cintas from $211.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $215.81.

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.

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