Invesco Ltd. Sells 702,599 Shares of Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Key Points

• Invesco Ltd. reduced its stake in Cintas Corporation by 13.7%, selling 702,599 shares, and now owns approximately 1.09% of the company worth $907,596,000.
• In Q1, various institutional investors increased their positions in Cintas, with GAMMA Investing LLC raising its stake by an astonishing 19,644.3%.
• Cintas announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.39 to $0.45, effective September 15th, representing a 0.8% dividend yield.

Invesco Ltd. lowered its position in shares of Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS - Free Report) by 13.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,415,880 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 702,599 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. owned 1.09% of Cintas worth $907,596,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of CTAS. True North Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cintas during the first quarter worth about $435,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Cintas by 15.9% during the first quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 198,072 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $40,710,000 after buying an additional 27,144 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Cintas by 20.1% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,585,024 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $531,300,000 after buying an additional 432,980 shares during the period. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cintas by 4.9% during the first quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 6,469 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,330,000 after buying an additional 302 shares during the period. Finally, MUFG Securities EMEA plc purchased a new position in Cintas during the first quarter worth about $10,071,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.46% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Cintas

In related news, Director Ronald W. Tysoe sold 5,084 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.47, for a total transaction of $1,136,121.48. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 21,945 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,904,049.15. This represents a 18.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Martin Mucci bought 1,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $222.55 per share, with a total value of $267,060.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 2,621 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $583,303.55. The trade was a 84.45% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 15.00% of the company's stock.

Cintas Stock Performance

NASDAQ CTAS traded down $0.57 on Tuesday, hitting $223.31. The stock had a trading volume of 1,467,165 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,498,182. Cintas Corporation has a one year low of $180.78 and a one year high of $229.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stock has a market cap of $89.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.64, a P/E/G ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 1.03. The company's 50-day moving average is $221.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $211.62.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The business services provider reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.02. Cintas had a net margin of 17.53% and a return on equity of 41.21%. The firm had revenue of $2.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.63 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.99 EPS. Cintas's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Cintas Corporation will post 4.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Cintas Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 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

CTAS has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Cintas from $240.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Cintas in a research note on Monday, July 14th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $239.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Cintas from $227.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Cintas from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Cintas to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Two equities 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $224.54.

Cintas 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.