Marks Group Wealth Management Inc Trims Stock Holdings in Cintas Corporation $CTAS

Key Points

• Marks Group Wealth Management cut its Cintas stake by 17.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 6,078 shares and leaving it with 29,350 shares valued at about $5.52 million.
• Other institutional investors were mixed on the stock, with several increasing holdings; overall, 63.46% of Cintas shares are owned by hedge funds and other institutions.
• Cintas reported quarterly earnings in line with estimates, posting $1.24 EPS on $2.84 billion in revenue, while analysts currently have a consensus Hold rating and an average price target of $215.17.

Marks Group Wealth Management Inc reduced its stake in Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS - Free Report) by 17.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,350 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 6,078 shares during the quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc's holdings in Cintas were worth $5,520,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. BLI Banque de Luxembourg Investments lifted its position in shares of Cintas by 34.7% in the fourth quarter. BLI Banque de Luxembourg Investments now owns 22,500 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,285,000 after acquiring an additional 5,800 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Cintas by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC now owns 5,769 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,085,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH lifted its position in shares of Cintas by 101.1% in the fourth quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 469,981 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $89,099,000 after acquiring an additional 236,329 shares in the last quarter. Syon Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Cintas by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 5,546 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,043,000 after acquiring an additional 659 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nemes Rush Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cintas in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. 63.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CTAS. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Cintas in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Cintas from $181.00 to $160.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Bank of America assumed coverage on Cintas in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $215.00 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird upgraded Cintas from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $250.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Cintas from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. One investment 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 issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $215.17.

Cintas Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CTAS opened at $173.65 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.48 billion, a PE ratio of 49.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.98 and a quick ratio of 1.74. The business has a 50-day moving average of $172.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $184.42. Cintas Corporation has a 12 month low of $161.16 and a 12 month high of $227.17.

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

Cintas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Cintas's dividend payout ratio is currently 50.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cintas news, Director Ronald W. Tysoe sold 4,666 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.87, for a total transaction of $834,607.42. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 22,448 shares in the company, valued at $4,015,273.76. This represents a 17.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 14.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Cintas

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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