Townsquare Capital LLC Acquires 8,458 Shares of Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Key Points

• Townsquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in Cintas Corporation by 26.8% during the first quarter, owning 40,049 shares valued at $8.23 million.
• Analysts have recently upgraded Cintas, with Argus giving a "strong-buy" rating and JPMorgan setting a price objective of $239.00.
• Cintas announced a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, reflecting a positive increase from the previous quarterly dividend of $0.39.

Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its position in Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS - Free Report) by 26.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 40,049 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 8,458 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC's holdings in Cintas were worth $8,231,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CTAS. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cintas by 3.9% in the first quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,256 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in shares of Cintas by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV now owns 2,412 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $441,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Cintas by 4.1% during the first quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 1,293 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $266,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. increased its position in shares of Cintas by 4.1% during the first quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 1,291 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $265,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Cintas by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 728 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $146,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.46% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Cintas in a research report on Monday, July 14th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $239.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised Cintas from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their price target for the company from $196.00 to $221.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Cintas from $227.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $240.00 price target (up from $215.00) on shares of Cintas in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Argus raised Cintas to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $224.54.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Todd M. Schneider sold 17,301 shares of Cintas stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.90, for a total value of $3,821,790.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 622,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $137,557,080.80. The trade was a 2.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Ronald W. Tysoe sold 5,084 shares of Cintas stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.47, for a total value of $1,136,121.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 21,945 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,904,049.15. This trade represents a 18.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 15.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Cintas Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CTAS traded down $0.57 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $223.31. The stock had a trading volume of 1,467,165 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,691,800. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $221.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $211.62. Cintas Corporation has a 12-month low of $180.78 and a 12-month high of $229.24. The stock has a market cap of $89.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 1.03.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The business services provider reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.63 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.99 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given 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 (DPR) is presently 35.37%.

Cintas 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.