Handelsbanken Fonder AB Raises Stock Position in Cintas Corporation $CTAS

Key Points

• Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its Cintas stake by 18.1% in the fourth quarter, ending with 118,301 shares valued at about $22.25 million.
• Insider selling continued as director Ronald W. Tysoe sold 4,666 shares for roughly $834,607, reducing his ownership by 17.21%.
• Cintas reported quarterly EPS of $1.24, matching estimates, while revenue of $2.84 billion beat forecasts and rose 8.9% year over year; the company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share.

Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake in Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS - Free Report) by 18.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 118,301 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 18,107 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB's holdings in Cintas were worth $22,249,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Cintas by 1.5% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,948,620 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $7,994,594,000 after buying an additional 564,487 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in Cintas by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,729,394 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $517,466,000 after buying an additional 158,785 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Cintas by 0.5% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,559,852 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $524,460,000 after buying an additional 12,841 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its stake in shares of Cintas by 39.0% during the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 2,223,411 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $442,548,000 after purchasing an additional 623,770 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its stake in shares of Cintas by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 2,002,205 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $376,647,000 after purchasing an additional 181,952 shares in the last quarter. 63.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Cintas

In related news, Director Ronald W. Tysoe sold 4,666 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.87, for a total transaction of $834,607.42. Following the sale, the director owned 22,448 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,015,273.76. This trade represents a 17.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 14.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Argus raised shares of Cintas to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Cintas from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Cintas from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $250.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Cintas in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $215.00 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Cintas in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $215.17.

Cintas Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ CTAS opened at $171.36 on Thursday. Cintas Corporation has a 1 year low of $161.16 and a 1 year high of $229.24. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $175.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $185.45. The firm has a market cap of $68.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 1.98.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.24. Cintas had a net margin of 17.57% and a return on equity of 41.47%. The firm had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.13 earnings per share. Cintas's revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cintas Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Cintas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Cintas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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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