Merit Financial Group LLC Boosts Stake in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Merit Financial Group LLC increased its position in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS - Free Report) by 33.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,013 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 3,295 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Cintas were worth $2,675,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Cintas by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,468,080 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,544,822,000 after buying an additional 219,809 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Cintas by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,118,479 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $935,146,000 after buying an additional 296,059 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Cintas during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $877,216,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Cintas by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,067,037 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $743,048,000 after buying an additional 472,069 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 115,268 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 63.46% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on CTAS. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Cintas from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Cintas from $218.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Argus raised Cintas to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Redburn Atlantic lowered Cintas from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $171.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Cintas from $211.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cintas has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $213.88.

Cintas Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ CTAS opened at $226.90 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.62 billion, a PE ratio of 54.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 1.09. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $212.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $205.59. Cintas Co. has a 12-month low of $169.46 and a 12-month high of $228.66.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.08. Cintas had a return on equity of 40.62% and a net margin of 17.23%. The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.84 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Cintas Co. will post 4.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cintas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. Cintas's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ronald W. Tysoe sold 8,521 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.96, for a total value of $1,780,548.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 27,029 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,647,979.84. The trade was a 23.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Jim Rozakis sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.37, for a total value of $380,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 256,528 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $48,835,235.36. This trade represents a 0.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 15.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

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