Paragon Advisors LLC Grows Stock Position in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Paragon Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS - Free Report) by 16.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,649 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,807 shares during the period. Paragon Advisors LLC's holdings in Cintas were worth $2,600,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Cintas by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,268 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $232,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its stake in shares of Cintas by 56.4% in the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 10,814 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,976,000 after buying an additional 3,898 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Cintas by 29.5% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 24,634 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,501,000 after acquiring an additional 5,606 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC grew its position in Cintas by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 12,137 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,217,000 after acquiring an additional 565 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Cintas during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. 63.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cintas Price Performance

Shares of CTAS traded down $2.38 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $222.22. 2,099,729 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,696,663. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.73 billion, a PE ratio of 53.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $213.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $205.48. Cintas Co. has a fifty-two week low of $169.46 and a fifty-two week high of $229.24. 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. Cintas had a net margin of 17.23% and a return on equity of 40.62%. The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.84 earnings per share. Cintas's revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Cintas Co. will post 4.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cintas Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Cintas

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on CTAS. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Cintas from $215.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of 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 raised their target price on shares of Cintas from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of Cintas from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $171.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on Cintas in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $250.00 price target for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.