Cintas Corporation $CTAS Shares Sold by PNC Financial Services Group Inc.

Key Points

• PNC Financial Services slightly reduced its Cintas stake in the fourth quarter, selling 10,446 shares and leaving it with 1.13 million shares valued at about $213.4 million.
• Cintas reported in-line quarterly earnings of $1.24 per share and revenue of $2.84 billion, with sales up 8.9% year over year; analysts now expect full-year EPS of 4.89.
• Sentiment is mixed: several analysts cut ratings or price targets, and the stock is trading around $171.36 versus a consensus price target of $215.17, while the company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. trimmed its position in Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS - Free Report) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,134,604 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 10,446 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. owned about 0.28% of Cintas worth $213,385,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CTAS. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Cintas by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,268 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $232,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Cintas by 42.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,441 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $321,000 after buying an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL acquired a new stake in Cintas in the 2nd quarter worth about $625,000. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its holdings in Cintas by 20.3% in the 2nd 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 buying an additional 35,781 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Cintas by 50.2% in the 2nd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 92,924 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $20,710,000 after buying an additional 31,068 shares during the last quarter. 63.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CTAS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings cut Cintas from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Cintas from $222.00 to $190.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Cintas from $181.00 to $160.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Argus upgraded Cintas to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Cintas in a report on Thursday, March 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cintas has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $215.17.

Cintas Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of Cintas stock opened at $171.36 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $68.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.96. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $175.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $185.45. Cintas Corporation has a 1-year low of $161.16 and a 1-year high of $229.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.98 and a quick ratio of 1.74.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.24. The firm had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.82 billion. Cintas had a net margin of 17.57% and a return on equity of 41.47%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.13 EPS. Analysts predict that Cintas Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cintas Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. Cintas's payout ratio is presently 50.85%.

Insider Activity at Cintas

In other news, Director Ronald W. Tysoe sold 4,666 shares of Cintas stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.87, for a total transaction of $834,607.42. Following the sale, the director owned 22,448 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,015,273.76. The trade was a 17.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 14.90% of the company's stock.

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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