Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 2,300 Shares of Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Key Points

• The Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its holdings in Cintas Corporation by 12.5%, selling 2,300 shares and ending with a total of 16,166 shares valued at approximately $3.32 million.
• Several analysts have raised their target prices for Cintas, with Morgan Stanley increasing its target from $213 to $220 and Goldman Sachs raising its target from $233 to $257, reflecting a generally positive outlook.
• Cintas Corporation recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.45 per share, which represents an annual yield of 0.8%, up from the previous $0.39 dividend.

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lowered its stake in shares of Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS - Free Report) by 12.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,166 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 2,300 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's holdings in Cintas were worth $3,323,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Cintas by 3.9% in the first quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,256 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $258,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. MJP Associates Inc. ADV raised its stake in shares of Cintas by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV now owns 2,412 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $441,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Cintas by 4.1% in the first quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 1,293 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $266,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Cintas by 4.1% in the first quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 1,291 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $265,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Cintas by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 728 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $146,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 63.46% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on CTAS shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Cintas from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Cintas from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and upped their target price for the company from $196.00 to $221.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Bank of America started coverage on Cintas in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $250.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Cintas from $233.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Cintas in a research note on Monday, July 14th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $239.00 target price for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $224.54.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cintas news, CEO Todd M. Schneider sold 17,301 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.90, for a total transaction of $3,821,790.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 622,712 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $137,557,080.80. The trade was a 2.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Ronald W. Tysoe sold 5,084 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.47, for a total value of $1,136,121.48. Following the transaction, the director owned 21,945 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,904,049.15. The trade was a 18.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 15.00% of the company's stock.

Cintas Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ CTAS opened at $223.40 on Friday. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $221.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $211.09. The company has a market cap of $90.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Cintas Corporation has a 12-month low of $180.78 and a 12-month high of $229.24.

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

Cintas Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. This is an increase from Cintas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Cintas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.

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