Entropy Technologies LP Takes Position in Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Key Points

• Entropy Technologies LP has acquired a new stake in Cintas Corporation, purchasing 10,968 shares valued at approximately $2,254,000.
• Cintas has recently declared a $0.45 quarterly dividend, increasing from the previous amount of $0.39, with a dividend yield of 0.8%.
• Analysts have adjusted their price targets for Cintas, with estimates ranging from $171.00 to $255.00, reflecting mixed ratings from analysts on the stock's performance.

Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 10,968 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,254,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CTAS. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cintas by 19,644.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,263,091 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $465,133,000 after acquiring an additional 2,251,629 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Cintas by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,859,304 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $7,781,223,000 after acquiring an additional 491,307 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Cintas by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,067,037 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $743,048,000 after acquiring an additional 472,069 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Cintas by 26.7% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,228,609 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $407,163,000 after acquiring an additional 468,950 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Cintas by 20.1% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,585,024 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $531,300,000 after acquiring an additional 432,980 shares during the last quarter. 63.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CTAS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Argus upgraded Cintas to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Redburn Atlantic lowered Cintas from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $171.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Cintas from $240.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $240.00 price objective (up previously from $215.00) on shares of Cintas in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Cintas from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cintas currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $224.54.

Cintas Stock Performance

CTAS stock traded down $0.57 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $223.31. 1,467,165 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,498,182. The company has a quick ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Cintas Corporation has a 1-year low of $180.78 and a 1-year high of $229.24. The company's fifty day moving average price is $221.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $211.71. The firm has a market cap of $89.99 billion, a PE ratio of 50.64, a P/E/G ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 1.03.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $2.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.63 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.99 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Cintas Corporation will post 4.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cintas Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid 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 dividend yield of 0.8%. This is a boost from Cintas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Cintas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.37%.

Insider Transactions at Cintas

In other news, CEO Todd M. Schneider sold 17,301 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.90, for a total transaction of $3,821,790.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Ronald W. Tysoe sold 5,084 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.47, for a total value of $1,136,121.48. Following the sale, the director directly owned 21,945 shares in the company, valued at $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. Company 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.