Meridian Wealth Management LLC Purchases Shares of 2,009 Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Key Points

• Meridian Wealth Management LLC acquired 2,009 shares of Cintas Corporation, with a total value of approximately $413,000.
• Multiple institutional investors modified their holdings in Cintas during the first quarter, with 63.46% of the stock now owned by hedge funds and other institutions.
• Cintas recently declared an increased quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, reflecting an annual yield of 0.8%.

Meridian Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 2,009 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $413,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC raised its position in Cintas by 3.9% during the first quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,256 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $258,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. MJP Associates Inc. ADV raised its position 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 buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC grew its holdings 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 during the period. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. grew its holdings 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 during the period. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings 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 during the period. 63.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Cintas

In related news, CEO Todd M. Schneider sold 17,301 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.90, for a total value of $3,821,790.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer 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 this hyperlink. Also, Director Ronald W. Tysoe sold 5,084 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director directly owned 21,945 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,904,049.15. The trade was a 18.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 15.00% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CTAS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Cintas in a research note on Monday, July 14th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $239.00 target price for the company. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of Cintas from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $171.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Cintas from $240.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report 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 stock from $196.00 to $221.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Cintas from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $224.54.

Cintas Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CTAS traded down $4.81 during trading on Friday, hitting $216.55. 1,398,396 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,365,709. The company has a market cap of $87.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.10, a PEG 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. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $220.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $212.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.82.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS - Get Free Report) last issued 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. 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 was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.99 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Cintas Corporation will post 4.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cintas Increases Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.45 per share. This is a boost from Cintas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Cintas's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.37%.

About Cintas

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.