Prosperity Consulting Group LLC Sells 1,382 Shares of Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Key Points

• Prosperity Consulting Group LLC reduced its stake in Cintas Corporation by 6.3%, now owning 20,695 shares valued at approximately $4.25 million.
• Multiple analysts have made forecast adjustments, with UBS Group raising the target price to $255 and JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiating coverage with a price target of $239.
• Cintas reported $1.09 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, with total revenue reaching $2.67 billion, marking an 8% year-over-year increase.

Prosperity Consulting Group LLC lessened its holdings in Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS - Free Report) by 6.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,695 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 1,382 shares during the period. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC's holdings in Cintas were worth $4,254,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised 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 buying an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its position in Cintas by 0.7% during 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 in the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in Cintas by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 20,907 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,820,000 after purchasing an additional 1,501 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its holdings in Cintas by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 9,901 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,809,000 after purchasing an additional 591 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allstate Corp acquired a new stake in Cintas during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,921,000. 63.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Todd M. Schneider sold 17,301 shares of Cintas stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 622,712 shares of the company's stock, valued at $137,557,080.80. This trade represents a 2.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Martin Mucci bought 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $222.55 per share, with a total value of $267,060.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 2,621 shares of the company's stock, valued at $583,303.55. The trade was 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 insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on CTAS shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Cintas from $227.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Cintas from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Cintas from $233.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Cintas from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $196.00 to $221.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Cintas from $240.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $224.54.

Cintas Stock Performance

CTAS stock traded up $0.45 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $223.13. 1,513,679 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,707,911. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.60, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $221.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $209.85. Cintas Corporation has a 12 month low of $180.78 and a 12 month high of $229.24.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The business services provider reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $2.63 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.99 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Cintas Corporation will post 4.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cintas Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. This is a positive change from Cintas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Cintas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.