Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS) Shares Bought by UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp

Key Points

• UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp increased its stake in Cintas Corporation by 183.8% in Q1, acquiring a total of 3,860 shares and valuing their holdings at $793,000.
• Wall Street analysts have given a mixed bag of ratings for Cintas, with two sell ratings, six buy ratings, and an average target price of $224.54.
• Cintas announced a new quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, set to be paid on September 15, marking an increase from the previous $0.39 dividend.

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp raised its holdings in shares of Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS - Free Report) by 183.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,860 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 2,500 shares during the quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp's holdings in Cintas were worth $793,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Cintas by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,268 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $232,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its holdings in 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 worth $93,969,000 after buying an additional 3,504 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank increased its position in shares of Cintas by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 11,736 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,144,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Cintas in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $326,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors raised its stake in shares of Cintas by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 9,488 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,733,000 after purchasing an additional 717 shares during the last quarter. 63.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cintas Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CTAS traded up $3.59 on Monday, reaching $225.09. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,431,663 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,440,095. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $221.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $210.55. Cintas Corporation has a 52-week low of $180.78 and a 52-week high of $229.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a current ratio of 2.09. The company has a market cap of $90.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.04, a PEG ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 1.03.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The business services provider reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.02. Cintas had a return on equity of 41.21% and a net margin of 17.53%. 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 business posted $3.99 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Cintas Corporation will post 4.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cintas Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Cintas from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $196.00 to $221.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Cintas in a research report on Monday, July 14th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $239.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Cintas from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $240.00 price objective (up from $215.00) on shares of Cintas in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Cintas from $227.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $224.54.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cintas

In other news, CEO Todd M. Schneider sold 17,301 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.90, for a total transaction of $3,821,790.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 622,712 shares of the company's stock, valued at $137,557,080.80. The trade was a 2.70% 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. Also, Director Martin Mucci purchased 1,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $222.55 per share, with a total value of $267,060.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 2,621 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $583,303.55. The trade was a 84.45% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 15.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Cintas

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.