Empire Life Investments Inc. Trims Holdings in Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Key Points

• Empire Life Investments Inc. reduced its holdings in Cintas Corporation by 16.7% during the first quarter, resulting in ownership of 44,342 shares valued at approximately $9.11 million.
• Cintas announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.39 to $0.45 per share, which will be paid on September 15th, providing an annual yield of 0.8%.
• Analysts recently revised their price targets for Cintas, with UBS Group raising its target to $255.00 and overall consensus rating remaining on "Hold" with an average target price of $224.54.

Empire Life Investments Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS - Free Report) by 16.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,342 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 8,876 shares during the quarter. Empire Life Investments Inc.'s holdings in Cintas were worth $9,114,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Clearstead Trust LLC raised its position in Cintas by 6.8% during the first quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 2,157 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $443,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV increased its holdings in shares of Cintas by 35.6% during the 1st quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 202,925 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $41,707,000 after purchasing an additional 53,289 shares in the last quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG increased its holdings in Cintas by 8.8% in the first quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 24,805 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $5,041,000 after buying an additional 2,012 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd increased its holdings in Cintas by 17.8% in the first quarter. R Squared Ltd now owns 1,590 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $327,000 after buying an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. increased its holdings in Cintas by 276.0% in the first quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 289,133 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $59,426,000 after buying an additional 212,228 shares in the last quarter. 63.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cintas

In other news, Director Martin Mucci acquired 1,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $222.55 per share, with a total value of $267,060.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 2,621 shares of the company's stock, valued at $583,303.55. This trade represents a 84.45% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Todd M. Schneider sold 17,301 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 622,712 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $137,557,080.80. This trade represents a 2.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 15.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Cintas Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ CTAS opened at $221.50 on Monday. 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 $89.26 billion, a PE ratio of 50.23, a P/E/G ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 1.03. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $221.43 and a 200 day moving average of $210.55.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.63 billion. Cintas had a return on equity of 41.21% and a net margin of 17.53%. The business's revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.99 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Cintas Corporation will post 4.31 EPS 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 issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This is an increase from Cintas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Cintas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CTAS. UBS Group lifted their price target on Cintas from $240.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Cintas from $227.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Cintas from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $196.00 to $221.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Argus upgraded Cintas to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Cintas in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $250.00 price target for the company. Two investment 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cintas currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $224.54.

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.

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