Cintas Corporation $CTAS Shares Bought by Entropy Technologies LP

Key Points

• Entropy Technologies LP boosted its Cintas stake by 483.4% in the fourth quarter, ending with 67,786 shares worth about $12.75 million. Cintas now represents 0.7% of the fund’s portfolio.
• Wall Street sentiment on Cintas is mixed, with a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $215.17. Recent moves included Citigroup cutting its target to $160 and rating the stock a sell, while Robert W. Baird upgraded it to outperform.
• Cintas reported quarterly EPS of $1.24, matching expectations, while revenue rose 8.9% year over year to $2.84 billion. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, payable June 15, for an annualized yield of about 1.0%.

Entropy Technologies LP increased its holdings in Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS - Free Report) by 483.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 67,786 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 56,167 shares during the quarter. Cintas makes up 0.7% of Entropy Technologies LP's portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Entropy Technologies LP's holdings in Cintas were worth $12,749,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CTAS. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cintas by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,268 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $232,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cintas by 42.3% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,441 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $321,000 after acquiring an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL acquired a new position in shares of Cintas in the second quarter worth about $625,000. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its stake in shares of Cintas by 20.3% in the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 212,192 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $47,291,000 after acquiring an additional 35,781 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cintas by 50.2% in the second quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 92,924 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $20,710,000 after acquiring an additional 31,068 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.46% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Activity at Cintas

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 transaction of $834,607.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 22,448 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 14.90% of the company's stock.

Cintas Trading Down 3.1%

Shares of NASDAQ CTAS opened at $176.28 on Friday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $173.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $184.29. Cintas Corporation has a 52-week low of $161.16 and a 52-week high of $226.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.80, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.13 earnings per share. Cintas's revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Cintas Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cintas Dividend Announcement

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

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.

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