Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH Cuts Holdings in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH reduced its stake in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS - Free Report) by 0.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,252,480 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 3,000 shares during the quarter. Cintas comprises approximately 5.4% of Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH's holdings, making the stock its largest position. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH owned 1.05% of Cintas worth $874,012,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in CTAS. MJP Associates Inc. ADV lifted its position in Cintas by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV now owns 2,412 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $441,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. MGB Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Cintas by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. MGB Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,248 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,328,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association lifted its position in Cintas by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 5,380 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $983,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Wellspring Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Cintas by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Wellspring Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,171 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $214,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Cintas by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 728 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $146,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. 63.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ronald W. Tysoe sold 8,521 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.96, for a total value of $1,780,548.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 27,029 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,647,979.84. The trade was a 23.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Jim Rozakis sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.37, for a total transaction of $380,740.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 256,528 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $48,835,235.36. The trade was a 0.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 15.00% of the company's stock.

Cintas Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of CTAS traded up $1.85 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $223.57. 1,466,910 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,702,938. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $214.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $205.71. Cintas Co. has a twelve month low of $170.93 and a twelve month high of $229.24. The stock has a market cap of $90.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.60 billion. Cintas had a net margin of 17.23% and a return on equity of 40.62%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.84 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Cintas Co. will post 4.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Cintas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. Cintas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on CTAS shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Cintas from $184.00 to $196.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Argus upgraded Cintas to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Redburn Atlantic lowered Cintas from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $171.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $240.00 price objective (up previously from $215.00) on shares of Cintas in a research report on Monday. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cintas has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $215.81.

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.