Cintas Corporation $CTAS Shares Purchased by Graham Capital Management L.P.

Key Points

• Graham Capital Management boosted its Cintas stake by 490.7% in the fourth quarter, ending with 35,285 shares valued at about $6.64 million.
• Several other institutional investors also increased or initiated positions, and institutional ownership stands at 63.46% of Cintas shares.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: the stock’s consensus rating is Hold with an average target price of $215.92, while Cintas also reported quarterly EPS of $1.24, matching estimates, and recently paid a $0.45 quarterly dividend.

Graham Capital Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS - Free Report) by 490.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,285 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 29,312 shares during the period. Graham Capital Management L.P.'s holdings in Cintas were worth $6,636,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nemes Rush Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cintas during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Cintas during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Camelot Portfolios LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cintas during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Key Capital Management INC acquired a new position in shares of Cintas during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Cintas by 226.7% during the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 147 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.46% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on CTAS. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Cintas from $181.00 to $160.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of 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 shares of Cintas from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $250.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Cintas in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on shares of Cintas in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $215.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $215.92.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cintas

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

Cintas Price Performance

Shares of CTAS opened at $176.71 on Wednesday. Cintas Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $161.16 and a fifty-two week high of $226.75. The company has a market capitalization of $70.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $173.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $184.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 1.98.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.24. Cintas had a net margin of 17.57% and a return on equity of 41.47%. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.13 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Cintas Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Cintas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was 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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