Korea Investment CORP Buys 49,726 Shares of Cintas Corporation $CTAS

Key Points

• Korea Investment CORP increased its stake in Cintas Corporation by 17.7%, acquiring an additional 49,726 shares to reach a total of 329,902 shares valued at approximately $67.8 million.
• Cintas recently reported a quarterly revenue of $2.67 billion, exceeding estimates, with a year-over-year growth of 8% and an earnings per share of $1.09.
• The company announced a dividend increase to $0.45 per share, payable on September 15th, up from the previous $0.39, reflecting a 0.8% dividend yield.

Korea Investment CORP increased its stake in shares of Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS - Free Report) by 17.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 329,902 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 49,726 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP owned about 0.08% of Cintas worth $67,805,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Cintas by 1.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,859,304 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $7,781,223,000 after purchasing an additional 491,307 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cintas during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,877,760,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Cintas by 0.7% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,095,506 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $841,749,000 after purchasing an additional 28,469 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of Cintas by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,655,835 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $667,919,000 after purchasing an additional 115,268 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Cintas by 11.7% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,818,147 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $514,875,000 after purchasing an additional 295,226 shares during the last quarter. 63.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on CTAS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Cintas from $233.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of Cintas from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $171.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Cintas from $240.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Cintas from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $196.00 to $221.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Cintas from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $224.54.

Cintas Trading Down 0.2%

CTAS traded down $0.52 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $215.59. The stock had a trading volume of 1,448,772 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,356,395. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $220.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $212.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 1.03. Cintas Corporation has a 1-year low of $180.78 and a 1-year high of $229.24.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The business services provider reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.63 billion. Cintas had a net margin of 17.53% and a return on equity of 41.21%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.99 earnings per share. Cintas has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.710-4.85 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Cintas Corporation will post 4.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cintas Increases Dividend

The company 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%. This is a boost from Cintas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Cintas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.82%.

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.