Motco Raises Stock Holdings in Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Key Points

• Motco increased its holdings in Cintas Corporation by 475.2% during the 1st quarter, owning a total of 26,323 shares worth approximately $5.4 million.
• A range of institutional investors recently modified their positions in Cintas, with Norges Bank purchasing a new stake valued at nearly $877 million.
• Analysts have recently set new price targets for Cintas, with UBS Group raising theirs to $255 and six analysts issuing a buy rating on the stock.

Motco increased its position in Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS - Free Report) by 475.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,323 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 21,747 shares during the period. Motco's holdings in Cintas were worth $5,410,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Cintas during the fourth quarter valued at $877,216,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Cintas by 19,644.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,263,091 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $465,133,000 after purchasing an additional 2,251,629 shares during the last quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Cintas in the 4th quarter valued at $196,057,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Cintas by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,067,037 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $743,048,000 after acquiring an additional 472,069 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Cintas by 26.7% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,228,609 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $407,163,000 after buying an additional 468,950 shares during the period. 63.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Cintas from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock 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 increased their price target for the stock from $196.00 to $221.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Argus upgraded Cintas to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Cintas in a research note on Monday, July 14th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $239.00 target price for the company. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Cintas from $240.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $224.54.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cintas

In other news, Director Martin Mucci bought 1,200 shares of Cintas stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $222.55 per share, with a total value of $267,060.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 2,621 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $583,303.55. This trade represents a 84.45% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 15.00% of the company's stock.

Cintas Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ CTAS opened at $223.56 on Friday. Cintas Corporation has a twelve month low of $180.78 and a twelve month high of $229.24. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $221.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $209.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.27 billion, a PE ratio of 50.69, a PEG ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 1.05.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The business services provider reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.63 billion. Cintas had a return on equity of 41.21% and a net margin of 17.53%. Cintas's revenue 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. On average, equities analysts forecast that Cintas Corporation will post 4.31 earnings per share for the current year.

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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