Flputnam Investment Management Co. Sells 7,601 Shares of Cintas Corporation $CTAS

Key Points

• Flputnam Investment Management cut its Cintas position by 27.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 7,601 shares and leaving it with 19,987 shares worth about $3.76 million.
• Analyst sentiment on Cintas (NASDAQ: CTAS) is mixed but leans cautious: the stock has an average “Hold” rating and a consensus target price of $215.17, with several recent rating changes and price-target cuts.
• Cintas reported Q3-style quarterly results that met earnings expectations at $1.24 per share and slightly beat revenue estimates at $2.84 billion, while also declaring a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share payable June 15.

Flputnam Investment Management Co. reduced its holdings in shares of Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS - Free Report) by 27.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 19,987 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 7,601 shares during the period. Flputnam Investment Management Co.'s holdings in Cintas were worth $3,759,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Cintas during the 4th quarter valued at $640,000. AlphaQuest LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cintas by 353.5% during the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 21,539 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,051,000 after purchasing an additional 16,789 shares during the last quarter. Collaborative Wealth Managment Inc. bought a new position in shares of Cintas during the 4th quarter valued at $275,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cintas by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,327 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $438,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cintas by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC now owns 924 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $174,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 63.46% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on CTAS. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Cintas from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $250.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Cintas in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Cintas in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $215.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Cintas from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Cintas from $222.00 to $190.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $215.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Ronald W. Tysoe sold 4,666 shares of Cintas stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.87, for a total value of $834,607.42. Following the sale, the director owned 22,448 shares in the company, valued at $4,015,273.76. The trade was a 17.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 14.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Cintas Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CTAS opened at $169.86 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $67.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.96. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $173.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $185.02. Cintas Corporation has a twelve month low of $161.16 and a twelve month high of $229.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.24. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.82 billion. Cintas had a net margin of 17.57% and a return on equity of 41.47%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.13 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Cintas Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Cintas Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Cintas's payout ratio is 50.85%.

Cintas Profile

Cintas Corporation NASDAQ: CTAS is a provider of business services and products focused on workplace appearance, safety and facility maintenance. The company is best known for its uniform rental and corporate apparel programs, which include rental, leasing and direct-purchase options, laundering and garment repair. Cintas markets its services to a wide range of end-users, including manufacturing, food service, healthcare, hospitality, retail and government customers.

Beyond uniforms, Cintas offers a suite of facility services and products designed to help organizations maintain clean, safe and compliant workplaces.

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