Cintas Corporation $CTAS Shares Bought by BNP Paribas Financial Markets

Key Points

• BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its Cintas stake by 63.6% in the fourth quarter, ending with 733,628 shares valued at about $138.0 million.
• Cintas reported quarterly earnings of $1.24 per share, matching estimates, while revenue of $2.84 billion topped expectations and rose 8.9% year over year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, payable June 15, and the stock has recently drawn mixed analyst views, with a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $215.17.

BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS - Free Report) by 63.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 733,628 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 285,289 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned about 0.18% of Cintas worth $137,973,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Cintas by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 5,058 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $951,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Cintas by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC now owns 1,288 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $242,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. raised its stake in shares of Cintas by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 4,381 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $824,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. raised its stake in shares of Cintas by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 1,300 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $267,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. raised its stake in shares of Cintas by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 2,287 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $510,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.46% of the company's stock.

Cintas Price Performance

NASDAQ:CTAS opened at $171.26 on Monday. Cintas Corporation has a 12 month low of $161.16 and a 12 month high of $229.24. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $172.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $184.83. 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 firm has a market cap of $68.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.94.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.24. Cintas had a return on equity of 41.47% and a net margin of 17.57%.The company had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.13 EPS. Cintas's quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Cintas Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cintas Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Cintas's dividend payout ratio is 50.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America assumed coverage on Cintas in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $215.00 price target for the company. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Cintas in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Cintas from $222.00 to $190.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Cintas from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $250.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on Cintas from $181.00 to $160.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cintas currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $215.17.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Ronald W. Tysoe sold 4,666 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.87, for a total value of $834,607.42. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 22,448 shares in the company, valued at $4,015,273.76. This represents a 17.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 14.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Cintas Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.