Brown Advisory Inc. Has $163.29 Million Holdings in Cintas Corporation $CTAS

Key Points

• Brown Advisory Inc. reduced its Cintas stake by 27.1% in the fourth quarter, selling 323,505 shares and ending with 868,220 shares valued at about $163.3 million.
• Cintas reported solid quarterly results, with EPS of $1.24 meeting estimates and revenue of $2.84 billion topping expectations; revenue rose 8.9% year over year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, payable June 15, which annualizes to $1.80 per share and yields about 1.0%.

Brown Advisory Inc. lessened its position in shares of Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS - Free Report) by 27.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 868,220 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 323,505 shares during the quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. owned approximately 0.22% of Cintas worth $163,286,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Cintas by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,948,620 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $7,994,594,000 after purchasing an additional 564,487 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in Cintas by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 15,311,491 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,879,632,000 after purchasing an additional 210,477 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Cintas by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,293,485 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,746,453,000 after purchasing an additional 97,220 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Cintas during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $923,672,000. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its position in Cintas by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,393,116 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $826,214,000 after purchasing an additional 36,666 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.46% of the company's stock.

Cintas Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CTAS opened at $176.28 on Friday. 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's fifty day simple moving average is $173.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $184.29. Cintas Corporation has a 1-year low of $161.16 and a 1-year high of $226.75. The stock has a market cap of $70.53 billion, a PE ratio of 49.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.94.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.24 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.82 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.13 EPS. The business's revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Cintas Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cintas Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Cintas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cintas news, Director Ronald W. Tysoe sold 4,666 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.87, for a total transaction of $834,607.42. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 22,448 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,015,273.76. This trade represents a 17.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 14.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on CTAS shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Cintas from $222.00 to $190.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 26th. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Cintas in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Cintas from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $250.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Cintas in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $215.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Cintas from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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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