Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Buys 10,154 Shares of Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Key Points

• Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Cintas Corporation by 8.2%, now owning 133,583 shares valued at approximately $27.4 million.
• Several analysts recently upgraded their price targets for Cintas, with UBS Group raising theirs from $240 to $255 and maintaining a "buy" rating.
• Cintas announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.45 per share, up from the previous $0.39, reflecting a commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS - Free Report) by 8.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 133,583 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 10,154 shares during the quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Cintas were worth $27,392,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CTAS. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Cintas by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,268 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $232,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its holdings in shares of Cintas by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 514,336 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $93,969,000 after buying an additional 3,504 shares during the period. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cintas in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $449,000. Savvy Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Cintas by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. now owns 1,239 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $226,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the period. Finally, Mariner LLC lifted its position in shares of Cintas by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 105,620 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $19,297,000 after purchasing an additional 590 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.46% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CTAS has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Cintas from $240.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Cintas from $233.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $240.00 price objective (up previously from $215.00) on shares of Cintas in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Cintas from $227.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Cintas in a research report on Monday, July 14th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $239.00 price objective on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cintas has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $224.54.

Cintas Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CTAS traded down $4.81 on Friday, hitting $216.55. The company had a trading volume of 1,398,396 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,365,709. Cintas Corporation has a 1-year low of $180.78 and a 1-year high of $229.24. The stock has a market cap of $87.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.10, a P/E/G ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 1.03. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $220.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $212.04. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The business services provider reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.02. Cintas had a net margin of 17.53% and a return on equity of 41.21%. The business had revenue of $2.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.63 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.99 earnings per share. Cintas's revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Cintas Corporation will post 4.31 EPS for the current year.

Cintas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. This is a boost from Cintas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Cintas's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.37%.

Insider Activity at Cintas

In other Cintas news, Director Ronald W. Tysoe sold 5,084 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.47, for a total transaction of $1,136,121.48. Following the sale, the director directly owned 21,945 shares in the company, valued at $4,904,049.15. This represents a 18.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Martin Mucci acquired 1,200 shares of Cintas stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $222.55 per share, for a total transaction of $267,060.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 2,621 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $583,303.55. This represents a 84.45% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 15.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.