Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Increases Stock Holdings in Cintas Corporation $CTAS

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. dramatically increased its Cintas stake in the fourth quarter, boosting holdings by 2,286.3% to 736,620 shares valued at about $138.5 million.
• Cintas reported solid quarterly results, with EPS of $1.24 matching estimates and revenue of $2.84 billion, up 8.9% year over year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, payable June 15, and analysts currently hold a consensus rating of “Hold” with an average price target of $215.17.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS - Free Report) by 2,286.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 736,620 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 705,751 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. owned approximately 0.18% of Cintas worth $138,536,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in CTAS. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Cintas by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,268 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $232,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Cintas by 42.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,441 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $321,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL purchased a new position in shares of Cintas during the 2nd quarter valued at $625,000. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its position in shares of Cintas by 20.3% during the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 212,192 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $47,291,000 after purchasing an additional 35,781 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Cintas by 50.2% during the 2nd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 92,924 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $20,710,000 after purchasing an additional 31,068 shares in the last quarter. 63.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cintas Stock Performance

NASDAQ CTAS opened at $168.31 on Friday. Cintas Corporation has a 52-week low of $161.16 and a 52-week high of $229.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 1.98. The company has a market capitalization of $67.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a fifty day moving average of $177.74 and a 200-day moving average of $185.75.

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

Cintas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. Cintas's payout ratio is currently 50.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Cintas to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Cintas from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Cintas in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $215.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Cintas from $222.00 to $190.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Cintas in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cintas presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $215.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Cintas Company Profile

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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