Dearborn Partners LLC Sells 30,008 Shares of Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Key Points

• Dearborn Partners LLC reduced its holdings in Cintas Corporation by 19.1% in Q1, owning 126,732 shares valued at approximately $26.05 million after selling 30,008 shares.
• Cintas recently announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.45 per share, up from $0.39, reflecting a dividend yield of 0.81%.
• The company's latest earnings report showed EPS of $1.09, surpassing analyst expectations, with a revenue of $2.67 billion, marking an 8.0% year-over-year increase.

Dearborn Partners LLC lowered its position in shares of Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS - Free Report) by 19.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 126,732 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 30,008 shares during the quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC's holdings in Cintas were worth $26,047,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC bought a new stake in Cintas in the first quarter valued at about $270,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Cintas by 26.7% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,228,609 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $407,163,000 after purchasing an additional 468,950 shares during the last quarter. Alpine Global Management LLC bought a new stake in Cintas in the fourth quarter valued at about $284,000. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its holdings in Cintas by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 170,182 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $31,092,000 after purchasing an additional 18,620 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc increased its holdings in Cintas by 3.8% in the first quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 60,099 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $12,327,000 after purchasing an additional 2,191 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 63.46% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on CTAS shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised Cintas from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $196.00 to $221.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Redburn Atlantic cut Cintas from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $171.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Argus raised Cintas to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Cintas from $240.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Cintas from $233.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cintas presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $224.54.

Cintas Stock Down 0.5%

NASDAQ CTAS traded down $1.05 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $221.50. 1,304,254 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,374,874. The business's 50-day moving average is $221.45 and its 200-day moving average is $210.16. Cintas Corporation has a twelve month low of $180.78 and a twelve month 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 stock has a market capitalization of $89.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.23, a P/E/G ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 1.03.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS - Get Free Report) last issued 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 return on equity of 41.21% and a net margin of 17.53%. The firm had revenue of $2.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.63 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.99 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Cintas Corporation will post 4.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Cintas Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Cintas

In other Cintas news, Director Martin Mucci acquired 1,200 shares of the company's 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Todd M. Schneider sold 17,301 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.90, for a total value of $3,821,790.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 622,712 shares in the company, valued at $137,557,080.80. This represents a 2.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 15.00% of the company's stock.

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.